The future

But do we have to get used to it?

VAR is still a work in progress. If FFA are going to stick with it, at the risk of alienating fans, then at the very least it will require improvement.

Most importantly, if the VAR is here to stay, then it has to have the confidence to make a decision itself. In the case of Joseph Mills, after delaying the match substantially, Evans ended up making the call anyway, by peering in at a pitch-side screen with a sock over it to stop it getting rained on.

That is the definition of ridiculous, and it shouldn’t continue to happen.

The time it takes for the VAR to review calls is a separate issue. VAR isn’t a natural extension of goal-line technology, where it’s a clear-cut matter of an instant review; VAR rulings deal with highly complicated, subjective incidents that require deliberation, and above all, the VAR has to adjudicate correctly.

Demanding that the assistant referees speed up their decisions, when it can take two minutes just to refer the call, may not solve the problem. Likewise, any changes that compromise the accuracy of the VAR decision remove the point – it’s not as if the head referee can’t make a decent judgment call at the time.

You could forgive FFA for feeling hard done by among all of this. The fans were constantly complaining about the standard of refereeing, so they brought in a system to take the pressure off referees, and give the fans what they were demanding – correct decisions.

Now the fans complain about the length of time it takes, and perhaps this is a lesson for all sport’s governing bodies. Fans like complaining. Get used to it.

But most of all, when considering advancements to the game, be ready to make mistakes and admit when technology is more of a hindrance then a help.

Improving football is about respecting the 90 minutes, not disrupting it.