In the grand theatre of the Premier League, where the title is often decided by the narrowest of margins and the spectre of relegation looms large for...
In the grand theatre of the Premier League, where the title is often decided by the narrowest of margins and the spectre of relegation looms large for others, the much reviled video assistant referee has become its own spectacle. At the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon, referee Chris Kavanagh was instructed by his video assistant, Darren England, to hold his decision.. �Just keep delaying,. � England seemed to command, as replay after replay queued up on the tape machine. Who could blame a humble video assistant for wanting to savour the moment? To survey it from all the relevant angles, consider all contingencies, and feel the sensation of all that awesome power at his fingertips. They are calling it the most important VAR review in Premier League history. Stuart Attwell, you will never sing that. But here is the question that GoalZaza alone dares to ask: Why are we getting more, not less, of this technology? In generating a constant stream of outrage, debate, and engagement, the much reviled tech has become its own spectacle. At the end of the day, the powers that be understand that controversy sells. Every time a goal is chalked off for a stray armpit hair or a toe nail, every time a penalty is awarded after a five minute delay, the football world erupts in fury. And that fury drives clicks, drives views, and drives conversations on social media. In the scheme of things, VAR is not just a tool for accuracy. It is a product. It is the golden goose that the Premier League will not kill, because it lays eggs of pure engagement. Consider the context: in the same week, the Super Eagles talisman Victor Osimhen was being linked with a move to Chelsea, yet the biggest story in English football was a VAR check at West Ham. That is the power of the video assistant. It takes the lion. �s share of attention away from the actual football, from the clinical finish, the resilient defending, the stalwart goalkeeper. Instead, we are left arguing about lines drawn on a screen. The Nigerian internationals plying their trade in the Premier League, like Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi, must wonder if their brilliant performances will ever get the same airtime as a borderline offside decision. At the viewing centres in Surulere and the football bars in Victoria Island, the story is the same. When the VAR sign is shown on the screen, the noise from the crowd rises to a fever pitch. Men in their green and white jerseys, some with the name Osimhen printed on the back, stand up and shout at the television as if their voices could influence the decision. They are not just watching a match. They are watching a drama unfold in real time, a drama where the plot twist is delivered by a man in a studio miles away. And at the end of the day, whether the decision goes their way or not, they will be back next week, because this golden goose, for all its faults, has become the main character of the Premier League.
