VAR is ruining soccer. I say ban it

The best part of sport is the ecstatic moment. Technology is spoiling that.

Referee Sebastian Gishamer looks at VAR (Video Assistent Referee) during the UEFA Champions League 2026/2027 match between Aston Villa and Viking FK at Villa Park on October 21, 2026 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. [Photo: Getty Images]

What’s the purpose of a soccer game?

It’s the moment a goal is scored. That ecstatic instant when everyone rises in unison to their feet, held by the primal bonds of human passion and connection. That’s the moment athletes play for and the reason fans attend. As described by Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly in their book, All Things Shining, “Something so overpowering happens that it wells........

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