It has been with us for a while now and for the vast majority of football fans in the English Premier League, it shows no signs of actually improving, improving the game and not simply being another way for incompetent referees to unfairly influence a game in favour of the media big boys.

Yes, we are talking about the Video Assistant Referee technology, although the use of the word technology is meant in the loosest sense. We have seen how well VAR can work in European leagues previously, but for some reason when it comes to the Premier League and the Champions League it seems like an endless kerfuffle of mistakes, contradictions and absolutely infuriating moments that simply serve to further diminish the raw passion and emotion of our beautiful game.

The latest controversy came in the midweek Champions League clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Sporting Lisbon. Spurs manager Antonio Conte saw red and was sent off after England striker Harry Kane saw his stoppage time potential winner ruled out for an offside, which in turn delays their qualification through to the last 16 but you will get good a sportingbet sign up offer on not letting this result effect their chances.

Ranting to the media following the full time whistle, the 53-year-old Italian was simply perplexed as to how such an obvious mistake could be made, as in his mind, such mistakes should be impossible under VAR itself.

"What happened in the last game was incredible. You score, you are already qualified for the next round, you are celebrating and then you have to stay for five minutes to look at the situation with VAR and you take the decision and you don't know if it's right or wrong. For me it's impossible to make a wrong decision with VAR and also to take four, five or six minutes to make it. To stay there five or six minutes already means you have confusion in your mind. It's incredible."

Conte was so incensed his proper post game press conference lasted a single question.

"This is not football in this way also because you cut the emotion, the emotion of everybody and especially the players because you don't know. You score a goal and you don't know what happens later. Did someone commit a foul one minute before? Or discover a foul one minute before and then they go to disallow this? It happened but it only happened when they want it to happen. This is the difference. But when I stay at home and I see the image, I am watching another game and I see the image, the VAR, then for me it is easy to take the best decision."

I think most will agree with what Conte was subtly trying to say.

Photo by Unsplash