It’s fair to say that the introduction of VAR hasn’t gone quite as smoothly as the Premier League were hoping.
Video replays are one of the most significant changes to football in its history, and it’s taking some time for players, managers and the referees themselves to adjust.
Every man and his dog have shared their opinion on the situation in the early weeks of this season, with an evident divide forming between those in favour and those against it.
Bournemouth’s Josh King falls into the latter group.
The Cherries have had their fair share of dealings with VAR so far this season and last weekend saw them seething at its failure to send off Youri Tielemans for a stamp on Callum Wilson in their defeat to Leicester City.
King makes it clear he is not a fan, telling TV2 that he believes the new technology has caused referees to stop doing their jobs.
“It doesn’t change anything,” the Bournemouth forward told the station.
“Callum Wilson was stamped on badly by (Youri) Tielemans at Leicester the other day, and it could have been a red card.
“It even applies to us (Bournemouth), (Manchester) City should have had a penalty at the end with (David) Silva. That it wasn’t given was lucky for us, but we lost the game anyway.
“I feel the referees no longer make decisions. They are just waiting on the VAR room. And the VAR room will then save them, but nothing happens because the VAR room thinks that if the referees haven’t seen it, then it’s nothing.
“The referees have become very passive because they have VAR talking in their ears and telling them what is yes and no.”
