The quote from Collina was "They were told to keep the flag down when there is a tight offside incident and there could be a very promising attack or a goal-scoring opportunity because if the assistant referee raises the flag then everything is finished,"
I find this to be such a perversion of VAR. it's not why it was introduced. Telling AR's to DELIBERATELY make an error so VAR can review it later is completely messed up.
i've heard we had the same instruction in Australia. Heard it via commentators so who knows what's actually been said, but we're all pretty well convinced that both referees and AR's have been avoiding tough decisions and using the VAR as a crutch.
I've raised this before, but it's directly relevant here:
Our grand final was decided by one goal, about 9 minutes in. Player, offside from a free kick, scored a goal (or set one up, doesn't matter). Wasn't a particularly difficult offside, but it would seem likely that the AR has chosen to keep the flag down and depend on the VAR.
Too bad that the Hawkye software had problems and the feed went missing.
So it didn't get reviewed. And that won the grand final.
This idea of 'let VAR sort out the offside' is the height of stupidity. Yet more evidence that the idiots running this game don't understand it in the slightest.
You don't WANT goals to be scored then disallowed. VAR is changing football fan culture because you can't celebrate a goal anymore, and by the time you know it's a goal...well, the excitement is half passed. FIFA are saying they actively want more goals awarded then denied? Get a clue.
But what about the offsides that are let go that don't directly lead to a goal? This stupid, dodgy approach by FIFA is actually going to CAUSE goals to be scored off incorrectly let go offsides. It's actually going to CAUSE match-changing errors.
Just because an offside is tight, doesn't mean you're not certain. There might be inches in it and you have no doubt. Or there might be a few feet in it - or worse - and you've just missed the key moment or were slightly out of position and have no idea.
There's already a misconception among fans of what 'benefit of the doubt to the attack' means. I've seen way too many idiots argue before VAR that 'yeah, I can see on TV that he was JUST offside but it wasn't by much, so he should have had benefit of the doubt, so the goal should have stood'.
Disturbingly, those people also vote....but anyway.
FIFA's directive here is actually going away from 'keep your flag down if you're not sure' and saying 'only call the blatant ones'. Look like the idiots that misunderstand 'benefit of the doubt' (note that there's no such thing as benefit of the doubt to the attack - it's 'benefit of the doubt always lies with not stopping play') are now correct.
So now AR's are having to change their game to 'well, it's definitely offside, but not by much...is it offside by enough? Crap, am I meant to call this one?'.
I don't see how Poll's comments can be read any other way. He's quite clearly saying that AR's are being told to keep their flag down and let the VAR sort it out later when there could be a promising attack. And really, any through ball would qualify as a promising attack.
But most promising attacks don't lead directly to a goal.
I think
@Men in Black is right in his concern here. It's completely messed up and a distortion of the job of the officials and a big step away from the initial purpose of the VAR.
And yet Collina is clearly saying to hold the flag and rely on the VAR. Delaying the flag isn't new. Not flagging because somebody else can figure it out is. And that's what Collina is saying the instructions are.
