Tottenham Manager Ange Postecoglou Slams VAR.

 

 'It's killing the game, mate. Not the same sport anymore. Standing around for 12 minutes, all for drama and controversy. 

No one cares it’s ruining the spectacle. Soon AI will ref it and play it too. Refs aren’t even refereeing now, just chasing microscopic calls. I don’t like it.'

Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham’s manager, didn’t hold back in his latest rant about VAR, claiming it’s destroying football. 

He argues the game he loves has lost its soul, bogged down by lengthy delays sometimes 12 minutes for decisions that suck the life out of matches. To him, the constant stoppages and obsession with tiny details, like offside calls by a fraction of an inch, are turning football into a tedious spectacle.

He’s frustrated that the focus has shifted from the action on the pitch to endless debates off it, with media and fans lapping up the controversy instead of caring about the sport itself. 

His sarcastic dig about AI taking over refereeing, and eventually playing, shows his disdain for where technology is dragging the game. Postecoglou longs for the days when referees made quick calls, however flawed, and the action kept flowing. He questions whether anyone even wanted VAR to become this nitpicking monster when it was introduced. The promise was to fix obvious mistakes, not dissect every moment under a microscope. 

He’s not alone; other big names like Jurgen Klopp have trashed VAR’s clunky execution too. Studies show VAR reviews often stretch stoppage time way beyond traditional limits, backing up his point about disrupted rhythm. Supporters of the system argue it brings fairness to a high stakes game where one call can cost millions. 

But for Ange, that doesn’t justify the cost to football’s spirit. His outburst is a raw call to put the game first, not the tech. Whether football’s governing bodies will rethink VAR’s role remains doubtful they seem too hooked on the precision it offers, even if it leaves managers like Postecoglou fuming on the sidelines.

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