Some years back, I was facilitating an issue-based workshop with a senior management team. The focus was on the future shape and direction of the unit. At one point, the Unit Head said to the group that he was fed up with reflecting on the past and that he wanted to “start with a blank sheet of paper”, in their shaping of the desired future.
In response, I said that this was not credible way to proceed, given the complex social dynamics of organization and the implications of these for what is and isn't possible. To illustrate the point, I wrote the words “THE PAST” on the top sheet of a writing pad, tore off the page and threw it into the waste bin. This left what appeared to be a "blank sheet of paper" on top of the pad. A quick rub with a pencil, though, showed that an imprint of the words “THE PAST” remained.
Introducing VAR - A clear and obvious error
The recent controversy concerning the performance of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), in the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, is the latest in a catalogue of incidents involving the increasing dominance of the technology in the professional game. Most tellingly, although the eventual decision made by the VAR favoured his own team, the 'Spurs manager, Ange Postecoglou, was scathing in his condemnation of its use. His concerns appear to be shared by other managers; with England boss, Gareth Southgate, reputedly having said that the game was better pre-VAR.
As a one-time engineer, I appreciate the value of technology. But only when it is applied in an appropriate context. The fact that a particular technology exists doesn’t mean that it automatically adds value - less still that it leads to ‘correct’ decision-making in the context of association football. The game is a complex, fast-moving process. VAR is not simply flawed in its practice but in its basic concept. Things that happen in football are not reducible to pseudo-scientific decision-making. Apparently, many onfield decisions are so clearly and obviously mistaken that it often takes several minutes for those operating the technology to reach their decisions. As part of this, they use slow-motion replays and views from multiple angles that bear no relationship to the complex social reality of the in-the-moment interactions that took place on the pitch.
The only thing that is clear and obvious to me is that it is not simply the way in which the technology is being applied that is flawed. Its very use is fundamentally ill-conceived.
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Posted on 12 October 2023 in Complexity, Current Affairs, News Commentary | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: complexity, football, VAR
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