Referee Bobby Madley has voiced strong opposition to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system, claiming it “hates” the technology for removing emotion from football.
Speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival, Madley, who officiates in the English Football League (EFL) and acts as a fourth official in the Premier League, expressed his fan’s perspective.
He prefers the immediate goal celebrations in the EFL, which doesn’t use VAR, unlike the Premier League.
Madley stated that the lengthy VAR review process takes away from the spontaneous joy of a goal.
“To take that emotion away, to have to wait and wait, and what feels like an eternity, as a fan I’m not a huge fan of that experience,” he said.
