Eden Hazard has said that he would completely remove Video Assistant Referee(VAR) from football if he could.
The Real Madrid man spoke about the negative impacts that VAR has had on the game since its introduction, the Belgian also stated that referees making mistakes as part of the game.
In an interview with ESPN, the reporter asked Hazard: “If there was one thing that you could change in football, rule change, or something that you want to see different, what would you change about the game?
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Hazard initially struggled to come up with an answer as he replied with: “About the game? Let me think a bit.”
The Madrid player eventually decided on removing VAR as his answer.
He said: “You know I don’t like that much this VAR. I don’t like it, I will remove it.”
He then explained his reasoning after being asked why.
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Hazard said: “Because it is part of football that referees to do mistakes and you know, because people they are just complaining all the time so that is why they made this VAR.”
The Belgian added: “You know after a goal, we are waiting and it is like we miss a bit of this happiness when you score a goal. You are always like ‘there is VAR’ so I would remove it.”
VAR was brought in to make every decision as clear as possible. But it has been a controversial topic since the first day the technology was used.
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In the Premier League, VAR is the constant topic of conversation as the time taken to make a decision is far too long compared to other competitions. Fans ended up celebrating a VAR decision rather than the actual goal.
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand spoke about VAR last month.
He said to Metro: “Sometimes it’s OK but it’s meant to help situations and actually it’s muddying the waters. In the international tournaments they go and look at the screen immediately and the efficiency and speed seem better than it has been in the Premier League.
“I prefer the referee in the middle making the decisions with the help of his linesmen. It adds to the story and the pub conversations.”
Meanwhile, Hazard showed his class on the pitch for Madrid after scoring in a 2-2 draw against Mexican outfit, Club America. The goal by Hazard was his first since January.
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After a turbulent time at the Bernabeu that has been hampered by multiple injuries, Hazard is ready to finally show the Madrid faithful what he is capable of.
Madrid will be heading into the new season as the champions of Spain and Europe, the pressure will be on the team as they look to defend their titles.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Twitter@ESPNFCTopics: Eden Hazard, VAR, Real Madrid
