Rugby TMO ‘way ahead’ ahead of VAR according to Page

Following a series of high profile errors in technology in football recently, Page isn’t happy with the current state of consistency in the elite game and thinks change is needed from its ‘amateurish and shambolic state’.

Page’s Wales side get set for their European Championship crucial double header against Armenia and Turkey this week and so far have escaped the technological controversy. With such small margins at stake, however, the prospect of a poor VAR decision affecting key moments of a match could play huge significance on the outcome of reaching the European finals for not just Wales but any other nation.

“It seems like the referees are assisting VAR at the minute, the game is stopping too many times,” said Page.

“TMO in rugby is way ahead of where football and VAR is, it’s clear and every supporter in the stadium can listen and know the process. It is done in 30 seconds, not nine minutes.

“We want the ball in play a lot more. Supporters want to see the play on the pitch, not stood still or not knowing what VAR are looking at or seeing. It’s just frustrating.

“For a definitive answer, VAR should get involved. If it’s a push or not, we don’t need VAR for that, let the referee make that call.

“Give the referee the power to do that again. It’s there to assist the referee, not the other way round. We are talking about a multi-billion pound industry. We can’t have VAR incidents like there have been.”

[Lead image: Football Association of Wales]