Paul Rouse: VAR was meant to be a cure to refereeing ills — not become another headache

In an earlier era, the torrent of insults that flowed would have been entirely directed at the referee. Now, though, the VAR offers a second focus

VARCICAL SITUATION: If video technology can demonstrate that a forward is clearly offside in scoring a goal, it makes sense to change the decision if it was not picked up on the field. But the notion that technology could utterly transform the accuracy of decision-making was never convincing, argues our columnist. Picture: Laszlo Balogh - Pool/Getty Images

It's always fun when a post-match interview reveals what’s bugging a sportsperson. And, on any given day, you can rest assured that the referee of any contest sits squarely in the frame.

Take, for example, the reaction of Jurgen Klopp after his Liverpool team drew 2-2 with Spurs a few weeks ago. Klopp was angry at the failure to send off Harry Kane (as well as the failure to award Liverpool a penalty) and said afterwards in a press conference: “I really have no idea what his problem is with me. Honestly, I have no idea. I have no problem. You just need an objective ref who sees the situations and judges them and not opinions.”