Ever watch an American football game ? The game stops every 10 seconds , quarterbacks with radios in their helmets taking orders from the sidelines, designated kickers who do nothing but spot kicks, not an inch of the field that isn't covered by a camera of some sort, the human element is gone, totally boring sh!t. I'm not saying that our game will go that far but I think you lose something by taking the decisions out of human hands, to me it's all part of the game.
if modern football was played with the same sports ethics and gamemanship as rugby we wouldn't be having this discussion...fact is we promote cheating and deception, love it when we get away with it but hate when found out, all clubs work the ref, its whats made this game so obviously stale and predictable imo, if you want rid of Var then ask why was it introduced in the first place, not why its there....
The longest stoppages are for the off side autopsies,if FIFA changed the off side rule back to something with even an iota of common sense,then everything would move smoother,christ if Cricket and Rugby can manage it,surely we can...
I disagree with the first part, Pat. Their discipline inn terms of the way they react to the ref and the respect they show the officials is light years ahead of footballers. It's ingrained in them from an early age whereas the culture in football-from an increasingly early age-is to have a go at the ref or officials,. Similarly feigning injury..the way footballers go on is pathetic and embarrassing when they get the slightest knock whereas rugby players just get on with it when they've been hit by a challenge that would floor a bear.
I agree that there are cheats in every sport and there are things that go on in a scrum or a ruck that are worse than anything you might see on a footy pitch but the way players in the two sports respond to the ref is so different it's not even funny.