Matt Maher: Fans’ absence has given the farce of VAR a far too easy ride

Yet increasingly, you start to question whether the biggest beneficiaries from football moving behind closed doors has actually been the match officials?

One can only wonder how supporters inside the grounds would have reacted to the series of VAR-induced farces during last weekend’s Premier League action.

Football’s use of video technology was already infuriating fans when they were allowed to attend. Now, far from having the creases ironed out, it appears in worse shape than ever as they prepare to make their long-awaited return.

Regular readers will know this column has for some time deliberately avoided the ‘debate’ over VAR. As far as this writer is concerned, there isn’t one.

The concept of introducing video replay into a fast-paced sport like football is fundamentally flawed and there is no solution which can avoid reducing the game as a spectacle. To sum up: VAR needs to be put in a box, fastened securely and then thrown into the nearest available volcano.

That won’t happen, of course. Like it or not, VAR is almost certainly here to stay in some shape or form. Too much money has already been spent on the technology and it is a long time since football, at least at the top level, has concerned itself too much with the feelings of the supporters.

Yet clubs would be well-advised to pay at least some attention at least over the next few weeks and months. Whether fans will return to grounds in the same number as before the pandemic when things are back to normal remains the great unknown. Many are eager to get back supporting their team, yet others less so after a year which has forced everyone to reconsider their priorities.

The release this week of the protocols Manchester City and Tottenham supporters will be required to follow to gain access to this month’s Carabao Cup final was a reminder that, in the short-term at least, going to the match will be a bit different than before.

For those fans wavering, the knowledge VAR is around to potentially ruin the enjoyment is simply another reason to spend their money elsewhere.

It might be a minority, a number so small clubs might not initially notice. But dissatisfaction with VAR is very real and football would be wrong to entirely dismiss the potential for a negative impact on its popularity in the long-term.