VAR can't offer absolute objectivity, German referee chief says

Referee Felix Bickel stands in front of the dark screen as he prepares to review a VAR decision on a penalty kick for Berlin, during the German 2nd Bundesliga soccer match between Preussen Muenster and Hertha BSC at the Preussen Stadium. Bernd Thissen/dpa

German refereeing chief Knut Kircher has warned of too high expectations in Video Assistant Reviews (VAR) after the aid for match officials has come under growing criticism.

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Kircher told Saturday's Süddeutsche Zeitung that VAR should return to its original purpose of only interfering when a referee makes a blatant mistake.

"Whenever I hear people say ‘VAR must make football fairer’, it gives me even more grey hairs than I already have. VAR simply can’t do that,” Kircher said.

“It’s still people who make the decisions, based on their own perspectives and interpretations.”

Kircher said that sentiment towards VAR and refereess is currently at breaking point. Last weekend's match between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich came under particular scrutiny following a number of controversial decisions by referee Christian Dingert.

“This match was a good example of how football still has to put up with certain things despite VAR,” Kircher said.

“VAR will not be able to ensure absolute objectivity; we have never claimed that it would.

“We need to accept once again that there are 80-20 or even 70-30 decisions that the referee makes on the pitch, and that VAR has no place in them,” Kircher said.

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