The real reason VAR enrages soccer fans and how to fix it

If you’ve watched any football, or even soccer, in the past few years, you’ll know that the game has been embroiled in controversy over new officiating technology. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system was introduced in the English Premier League in 2019 to reduce referee errors and obtain more correct calls. Instead, it created a new kind of uncertainty and undermined our understanding of basic rules such as offside and handball. It has also infuriated fans, who can often be heard shouting “this isn’t football anymore” after lengthy VAR checks.

It’s safe to say that soccer fans love to get furious, especially when a referee’s decision goes against their team. But as I argue in my new book, I can’t stop thinking about VARthere’s more to this than meets the eye. As someone involved in developing new ways to measure educational attainment, I’ve thought long and hard about why VAR is so frustrating. I think the problem has to do with the challenge of pinpointing objective reality, the difficulty of accurate measurement, and human nature’s aversion to uncertainty.

But what I realized is that VAR exemplifies the limits of rationality in many fields, far beyond the field of football. So let’s briefly explore the broader history of measurement, from attempts to determine the boiling point of water in the 18th century to the struggle to accurately assess boiling point.