Passion-killing: A murder most foul

“So what do you make of VAR?” the guy behind the counter in my local garage asked the customer in front of me in the queue.

The question was posed in a casual, off-hand manner, like he was just making a bit of idle talk to lubricate a routine transaction for petrol and paper. The customer’s reaction was anything but relaxed, however, as he promptly erupted into a savage and prolonged denunciation of VAR, the new rules, football’s powers-that-be and how the grand old game was going to the dogs.