‘We don’t recognise the game anymore’ – VAR kills raw emotion of football and Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend wants it SCRAPPED

Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend is fed up of VAR and wants it gone, insisting technology is killing the game we know and love.

Despite various changes to the laws, which most fans can hardly keep up with these days, problems with VAR have not been ironed out following the chaos last season.

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Townsend has seen enough of this

Just last Saturday, Harry Maguire’s choke on Cesar Azpilicueta was not deemed worth a glance at the pitch-side monitor, while the foul which led to Sheffield United’s penalty at Liverpool wasn’t even checked properly.

The weekend before that, VAR failed to punish Jordan Pickford’s horror tackle on Virgil van Dijk, and ruled out Liverpool’s last-minute winner at Everton for a seriously questionable offside call.

Instead of ensuring accurate, consistent decision-making, VAR has only added more uncertainty – and it takes longer to do it, too.

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Weren’t things better the way they were before?

Players and fans alike barely know whether to celebrate anymore, given the inevitable forensic, microscopic search for the slightest infringement.

Which is why Townsend has had enough.

He told talkSPORT: “I don’t think anyone has a problem with referees themselves, they’re just trying to navigate through the new laws the same way we are.

“The problem we have is with VAR and the interpretation of the rules.

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Townsend [left] wants VAR scrapped completely

“Slowly and slowly over the years, the rules have changed so much that we have a game we don’t even recognise.

“I’ve never been a fan of VAR, even if it was 100% perfect and got everything right, I still think it ruins the raw emotion of football.

“If you score a last-minute goal, you go wild, but if your shoulder’s offside it doesn’t count.

“Then next time you score, you’re not going to celebrate as intensely, so you lose the raw emotion.

“The fact it’s making so many mistakes, we need to get rid of it.”

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