VAR hasn't improved the game, only detracted from it by interminable delays, muted goal celebrations, constant argument over millimeters, and the inevitable claims of judgmental errors among VAR officials. Before the advent of VAR, and after any goal, I always looked to see if the ref was pointing to the center circle (or not). This ecstatic or agonizing moment is now denied by technology. Bin VAR.
I don't want VAR binned, but where we're at with it now has made the game so fucking boring for the reasons you name.
Referees have always been subjected to scrutiny and criticism, but in the past I think there was an understanding that there are going to be a few things they don't spot. Dessers' disallowed Old Firm goal, for example, would have invited desperate cries on the Super Scoreboard phone-in of "foul in the buildup!" but the goal would have likely stood and we would have moved on quickly.
Now VAR can be scouring for any infringement in the buildup to a goal, and there's a sense they're looking for any excuse to disallow. On more than a few occasions in the SPL it's felt like they're looking harder in some circumstances than others, just as refs tend to be quicker with dishing out yellow cards for some teams than others.
But VAR has also created a scenario where hack pundits like Sutton and Stewart behave as if they're refereeing the game. And what they do is pure propaganda, intended to create controversy and ramp up pressure on refs. So every other goal, every other penalty awarded, becomes a subject of controversy - if it suits you, of course. Not helped by the ridiculous current iterations of the handball rule and the way offside is handled.
The way rules and VAR combine now, watching football is becoming like forensic science, every decision like Kevin Costner taking apart the Kennedy assassination in JFK, "back ... and to the side." It needs fixed, because right now it's beyond tedious.
