Big Vote Coming in March to Decide if VAR Stays or Goes
So, there's this big deal happening in Norway where they're looking at their VAR system again, which is like the robot referee thing in soccer. It's all because some crazy fan protests have been popping up in their main league, the Eliteserien. And let me tell you, these fans are not just booing or holding up signs. Oh no, they're throwing fish cakes and other stuff on the field!
There was this one game between Rosenborg and Lillestrom that got stopped like a bunch of times because fans kept tossing fish cakes. They had to stop playing for two whole minutes and even sent the players to the locker room to chill out. The game eventually got restarted, but with more fish cakes and smoke bombs flying around, they had to call it off and play it again without any fans.
But wait, it gets weirder. At a game between Vålerenga and Ranheim, which isn't even in the big league, fans started throwing Danish pastries on the field. They had banners saying "No More VAR," even though VAR isn't used in their league. Vålerenga is like, totally against VAR now and wants it gone for good.
The big boss of Norway's soccer, Lise Klaveness, admitted that maybe they didn't talk to the fans enough when they brought in VAR in 2023. She said they need to figure out how fans can have a say in this whole mess.
They're gonna make a group with people from the clubs, fans, players, coaches, and refs to talk about VAR and if it's really helping the game. Then, they're gonna have a big meeting, like a soccer parliament, from March 1-2 next year to vote on what to do with it.
This isn't just a Norway problem, though. Other countries' soccer leagues have had drama with VAR too. Like, in Sweden, they said "Nope" to it in April because the fans were so against it. And over in the English Prem, Wolverhampton Wanderers tried to get rid of it, but everyone else was like "No way," and voted to keep it.
Norwegian soccer, VAR, fan protests, Eliteserien, Rosenborg, Lillestrom, Vålerenga, Ranheim, Lise Klaveness, VAR review, soccer parliament, Wolverhampton Wanderers, fan involvement.
