Fair decisions or fun to watch?
Discussion question | This is for ages 14 to 16
Technology like VAR (Video Assistant referee) in football or Hawk-Eye in tennis helps referees make more accurate decisions. While this can improve accuracy, removing the human element may also make the game less exciting for fans.
Should fan experience be prioritised over referring accuracy?
Tell us what you think
You might want to structure your answer like this:
I think the fans' experience of a sport [should / shouldn't] take priority over refereeing accuracy because [your reason]. For example, [give an example]. However, others might feel that [an opposite view].
Make sure you read the comments from other Topical Talkers to see whether you agree or disagree with them.
Comments (31)
This topic is now one of the most debated issues in modern sport so I'm excited to take a part in this topic. I think the fan's experience of a sport shouldn't take priority over referring accuracy because fairness is fundamental.
The most important part in a sport is the competition with agreed rules. If these rules are not followed, so the results can be unfair and fans will not feel interested "even the bias was towards their team not against". While fans enjoy their excitement, they prefer their team to lose "fairly" than to win because of an unfair decision. However, some fans say that the VAR in a football match slows down the game, creating suspenseful pauses, so this annoys them. Let me ask you a question, AS A FAN, DO YOU FEEL CHEERFUL WHEN YOUR TEAM SCORES A GOAL, IN A WAY THAT IS NOT FOLLOWING THE RULES? You may say yes, but, for sure, if this is repeated, your trust will be lost in the team. Think of it like the accuracy is the roots and fans' excitement are the flowers. Accuracy is the referee's whisper that keeps the game honest, and the fans' roar is what gives it energy.
To conclude, I strongly believe that accuracy is much more important than the excitement of the fans. It makes the game organized and satisfying for everyone so if a team wins, the fans of the other team will appreciatively understand that these are the rules and the winning team deserves to win.
I agree with you and will like to give another point as to why accuracy is a bit more important than the joy of the fans, first of all as a fan your team can never always win look at all the big teams in world football like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea among others and the popular individuals in tennis such as Alcaraz, Sabalenka, Nadal, Djokovic just to mention a few, it is not always that they win, TRUE OR FALSE. So as a fan, the first lesson you need to learn is simply the fact that who you support will have times to win and times to lose. So the fair decision is always best as there are other fans who want to win which encourages preservation and practice of fairness in order for the correct individual or team to be able to win.
Secondly, I would like to lay a point based on fun to watch aspect, imagine your team winning the champions league and doing it unfairly, wouldn't it feel bad for others who were supposed to win but were unfairly the losers, this would feel bad and lead to the fun of the game being tarnished as they believe that the officials didn't do what they were payed for to do and attracting less viewer attention to the game.
I agree, it would feel wrong if a team won unfairly. Can you give an example of how unfairness and technology are linked in tennis or football?
I strongly agree with you based on the fact that sports should be fair without any form of partiality. According to my research I figured out that the accuracy of VAR in modern days ranges from about 98.3%-99.3%. Now, there is a reason it is not 100% accurate for a reason, AI tends to make mistake sometimes. Yes, the percentage rate is really high, but let us all think about what happened to that last 0.7%? We should all take this into consideration 100% is being complete certain about something, and something being completely certain about something is very rare especially due to the fact that VAR is AI. So, in my opinion VAR has its advantage and disadvantages, but it also plays a huge part in the game of Football.
Thanks for your comment. Can you tell us more about your research? How did you come up with those percentages?
Hello lovely_fruit,
I strongly agree with your opinion because fairness is the true foundation of sport. When decisions are correct, players feel respected and fans feel confident that the result is honest. Technology that helps referees review important moments and track the ball’s position can reduce human mistakes and make competitions more trustworthy. According to reports from BBC Sport, decision-review systems have improved accuracy in several major tournaments, which shows that technology can support justice in sport.
However, this topic also creates a serious problem. When games are stopped too often for checks, the rhythm of the match can be broken. Fans may feel less excited, and players can lose focus or momentum. Over time, this could make sport feel more like a technical process than a natural and emotional competition. That may reduce enjoyment, especially for young fans who watch for fun and energy.
So, while fairness should come first, technology must be used carefully and efficiently. If it becomes too slow or too frequent, it could harm the experience it is meant to protect. The real goal should be balance ; using technology to keep sport fair while still protecting the excitement and spirit that make people love it.
What do you think?
I highly believe that fans’ experience of a sport shouldn’t take a priority over referring accuracy because every millisecond and nanometer matters. If there aren’t any accuracy, mistakes would occur, which could upset fans of one team by causing them to lose a point that was rightfully theirs; meanwhile, the other team would celebrate a point that they didn’t actually deserve. That’s the importance of accuracy.
On the other hand, many would feel that the fans’ experience is much more vital because where will be the fun when everything is already really accurate in a way that just makes it really annoying to the fans.
To sum up everything, although the fans’ experience matters, it’s really important to the accuracy to take a priority, which would lead to a fair game for both teams.
I think that the fan's experience of sport should not take priority over refereeing accuracy because the Var is extremely significant in any match. It guarantees the accuracy of judgments in matches. The Var can reduce the mistakes of the referee, and it helps to correct the crucial decisions. The Var makes the match fair, and this will satisfy all audience and fans. As a football fan, I would not accept that my team loses because of a referee inaccuracy.
For example, in 2018 World cup, there was a match between France and Australia. France was in an attack and an Australian defender tackled in the penalty box. The referee was confused and completed the match then after 30 seconds, the var called the referee to see if it was penalty or not. Moreover, the var was right and a penalty was scored to France. Then Australia had a penalty and it was scored after that Paul Pogba scored for France a palinka, yet the ball landed on the goal line. The referee was confused again consequently he went to the Var furthermore the Var used the goal line technology, and it was a goal. The match ended 2-1 to France. If there was not a Var, there would not be fairness in that match. However, others might feel that the fan's entertainment is more important, but they are wrong since if there is no Var, there will be no justice or equity.
To conclude, I believe that the referee and the Var complete each other in arbitration also I believe that the Var is the referee's third eye.
I agree to that but to make it more fun for fans, i think the referees could use the VAR in less time because if they of course don’t want to check more than 5 minutes if there is a penalty or not or check the VAR many more times.
I think the way we watch sport should take over the major reason why sport was created because it is a recreational activity whereby everything that is done should be at the same time safe and enjoyable. People say that halo is ugly but that halo is been created to ensure safety of racers. If people think that enjoying sports is better than it being safe yes it is their own point of view but for me this is my own perspective. Let me give another scenario, in football we know that players wear boots to ensure safety, but now if to say that boots are not supposed to be there and they are playing football, during the game, one of the best player in the club gets injured on his leg or to say two or three more people get injured it will destroy the mood of the person watching it because he or she was about to score a goal and gets injured, the hopes of the person watching it will just die. Even after all this people might still think enjoying the sport is better, it is fine because when these games were brought up it was just for fun and enjoyment at that time. but I still think that safety is more important.
I think being fair is better than making it fun, because to me if the game or sport is fair it can not be fun. for instance, you are playing for Liverpool football club and the opponent keeps fouling the fans consider the played unfair which makes it not interesting for them to watch. And it can be possible for someone to know that games must and be played fairly to make a peace and conduicive environment.
I agree because... if a referee for instance decides to favour a team over another, the viewers obviously will not enjoy the game. When the game is fair, the right judgements will be made. Yes there might be some things people won't be comfortable with but it is all still part of life.
In the end only one team can win and it will push the opponents to become better in the future, and viewers would also have a nice time. So it's a win-win for everyone!!
I think that technology like VAR and Hawk Eye helps player make more accurate decisions, which is important because games should be fair. A small decisions can make big mistake that can change the result of a match and that can feel unfair to players and fans. However sports are meant to be exciting. Long VAR checks can slow the game and take away the exciting part, especially when fans are celebrating a goal. Some mistakes and human decisions are part of what makes sport dramatic and memorable. Instead of choosing between accuracy and fan experience, technology should be used in a balanced way. It helps players fix mistakes without stopping the game to often, so sport stays both fair and enjoyable to watch.
Thanks for reading :3
hi
I think that fans experience of a sport shouldn't take priority over refereeing accuracy because this games has being in existence for a very long time and has always been maintained because of this rules, when accuracy is neglected it brings about cheating, disorderliness in sport, violence and fosters hate among opponents.
for example master A pushed master B during a football game and the field referee did not see, with the help of the VAR this mistake could be spotted, and immediate readjustment can be made. This act can help promote fairness, justice and peace.
Fans might also be concerned about a particular team winning probably because they love that team more, can be handled by always providing fair and accurate result without cheating.
Furthermore every body has their own perspective and might think that fans interest should always be considered .
Agree with you, "motivated grapefruit". A good point! Correct refereeing & accurate scoring have a big role to play in avoiding potential confrontations amongst fans, so would also vote in favour of tech tools promoting accuracy, fairness & peace.
I think the fans' experience of a sport shouldn't take priority over refereeing accuracy because if the referee were to make a mistake, it will be very unfair to the fans. Even though a referee's mistake can be exciting for some people, the fans whose team loses because of that mistake can feel very frustrated. Fans feel this way because some of them place bets on these matches, and others spend their own hard-earned money and time to travel and watch their team. Ultimately, the feeling of frustration from losing a match due to a referee's mistake is a much worse experience rather than just having less fun.
I think the fans experience of a sport should be a priority over refereeing accuracy because, the game was made for entertainment. I am not saying that the scores should be inaccurate but, the games were made for leisure after all. To add everything up, sports were made for fans, they are the ones that buy the tickets and support the teams so if the audience is displeased, everything would literally collapse.
For example, we are watching the football game and the referees keep pausing the game to check for VAR reviews. It kills the rush you might be feeling. Now lets put our selves in the players shoes, with the rush and the cheering from the audience, they will be encouraged and motivated to do better and maybe even take risks.
However, others might feel that sports have to be fair but the thing is that it does not have to be perfect, it just has to be watchable and enjoyable, because the game is partially run by the fans.
I strongly disagree to this because these games are played as competitions and not just as any random activity that is supposed to make the audience feel comfortable in the arena. If games are played not to be accurate, it makes the rules of that game to be irrelevant, and the main component that qualifies a game are the rules. I am pretty sure you wouldn't like a scenario when you contended in a competition and was supposed to win, but the win was given to your opponent because there were illegal things that he/she did to win that wasn't looked into. So I strongly disagree that fans experience should be taken prior than refereeing accuracy.
I think the fan's experience should not take priority over refereeing accuracy because when the game is free and fair it makes the rules relevant. What is the point of setting up games with rules when in the end the rules would be compromised for the fun of the fan's. If they are real fans they would stay even when their team in losing. Refereeing accuracy also gives everyone a chance to win through their skills and the effort they make. Without fairness, players stop caring and they just play for the sake of playing because they know that in the end the referees will give what the fans want which is not fair. For example, in a game of basketball, the referee calls a three-pointer for the home team but when the video is replayed it is shown that the player's foot was on the three-point line but the referee refuses to cancel the field goal because of the fans which is utterly wrong and is compromising the rules and would drive them to do more things that are not right just because they know that in the end the points would be added to them because of the fans and it is also wrong because it is not fair to the opposing team. However, others might disagree because it may make the game less interesting for fans but I say we choose fairness over fun.
I would start by explaining the meaning of technology and also share What I think concerning the topic.
Technology can be defined as the knowledge and specialized machine used to solve problems and make them easier. However technology has helped us a lot in our daily life. under the question is it better for a game to be fair or fun? what I think is despite the use of technology, a game should be fair first and the least of them should be fun. Reason being that technology and human beings may spoil the fun of the game and so the players may feel cheated and the fun will not last. Again players may probably end up fighting or loose control. To back up everything, technology in football has improved sport( football) by letting players play at night and also coming to the Video assistant referee popularly known as V.A.R can help the referee detect a penalty or free kick. but to conclude it can also ruin sport football precisely because some video assistant referee's may collect bribe and give a penalty when is not meant to be given or a referee declaring an offside goal or supporting the other team. This is what I think about the topic.
you raise good points, precious_parrot -- that sometimes even with technological improvements, cheating can still take place. But the question here is about when the technology might take away from the fun of being a spectator. So, should the fans' experience be prioritised over the accuracy of referees?
Normally sport is meant to be fair. but outside that, a game should also be fun to watch for the following reasons of mine.
1. It maximizes engagement
2. Subjectivity
3. players may feel emotionally high or low
I think the fans' experience of a sport should not be taken prior over refereeing accuracy. Games are fun activities or competitions that allows two or more parties compete against each other in order to get a winner. And in these games, there are officials that has been fixed in various parts in order to ensure an organised and smooth process and also to ensure that the winner(s) of the game earns their win. Most times after these games are played, records are taken. And these records last for generations. So if it turns out to be that the results that were taken were falsified just to meet up with the specifications of how the fans wanted the game to be, that wouldn't be fair. However, others might feel that how much they enjoyed the game is what matters most, but on the side of the true winning participants, they would feel hurt and sad for putting in their best to win but the win was given to another team because the crowd enjoyed their play more than the other. So this is why I strongly disagree that the refereeing accuracy of a game should be compromised for the fans experience or excitement towards a game.
I honestly think that VAR is quite accurate according to my studies it shows that about 98.3%-99.3% is the rang of accuracy of the VAR and to me I honestly think that a human touch makes everything exciting that is why I am dumb founded on which on to pick because most memorable moments in football have been reefed by humans not the VAR like for example Maradona's hand of God against Barcelona that changed the score board was reefed by a human and it brought both pain and now we go to the VAR side the VAR allows free and fair matches against two opponents which give both equal chances of winning if you read my work well you will see that both have advantages and disadvantages, thank you.
Thanks for your comment. I see that both you and versatile_morning are citing 98.3%-99.3% from your studies. Did you work together? Or did you take these percentages from somewhere? Remember that copying from other sources isn't allowed.
I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT REFEREE ACCURACY AND FAIR DECISION IN SPORTS SHOULD TAKE PRIORITY OVER FAN'S EXPERIENCE. What is sports without fair play. Would You rather enjoy an unfair game which may eventually lead to injuries or enjoy a fair game. Sports is all about fair play and without fair play sports is useless and aimless. many accounts of unfair play in sports has lead to conflict and violence. One thing is that you must not please everyone. Rules cannot just be changed because of a fans opinion because it must surely end bad.
What I am just trying to say is that Fair play and referee accuracy should be number one priority.
THANK YOU AND HAVE A NICE DAY.
What value is there when rules are perfectly followed but the sports itself becomes dull, slow and disconnected from the fans.
I believe that fans' experience should take priority over referring accuracy. This is because while, fairness and accuracy is deliberated on, the fans which are the main reasons sports exist should also be put into consideration.
Sports rely on emotion and dramatic moments to keep fans engaged but when games are interrupted to often by reviews or a lot of technical decisions the natural flow and vibe of the game is broken and fans are kept more on suspense and uncertainty.
Without refereeing mistakes, there are fewer debates and arguments which make the sports memorable.
In conclusion fans value fairness but value excitement more.
Thank you.
Hello topical talkers, hope you are doing great. I think it’s a really tough choice. Obviously, we want the game to be fair, because it’s annoying when a referee makes a huge mistake that changes the whole score. Using technology like VAR or replays helps make sure the right team wins, which is important.
But at the same time, if the game keeps stopping every five minutes to check a screen, it gets kind of boring to watch. Part of the fun of sports is the fast pace and the excitement of celebrating a goal right when it happens. If you have to wait ages to find out if it counts, it ruins the "buzz" of the crowd. I think I’d prefer it to be a bit more fun and fast, even if the refs make a few mistakes, because that’s just part of the game!
Good day everyone my name is appreciative_expression.
The topic is a very interesting topic that a a lot of us who are in interested in sports will like to debate on. So let me start by saying that sports is an activity to prove ones talent , get fame , a recreational activity or something one does during leisure. Now there are sports which are shown globally to the world such as football , boxing , wrestling , Entertainment and Sports Programming Language[ ESPN ]. These are sporting activities that require the support of individuals which are classified as fans.
I personally don"t watch games or sport as the thing may be just for fun , I watch games because it is also a source of learning and who would like to learn how to cheat to get fame or be successful, no one. Permit me but for some people fair decisions can change their lives forever , take it from this scenario that people who place bets on there various clubs or teams are meant to win, but them being in a situation of an unfair decisions made by the officials of the game will loose there money. I do not personally agree with the decision of some individuals in the VAR team because it very rare now to find to find people who have integrity in a country because of lack of contentment . Sometimes we might have individuals to take bribes to enable a team get favour.
So I would to conclude by saying that I prefer fair decisions made than for me to watch a game just to fun.
Thank You.
I personally believe that sports can only be enjoyed when it is accurate. Based on the web, sports technology can be referred to as the application of advanced tools, systems and digital solutions to enhance athletic performance, training, analysis and overall sports experience for athletes, coaches and fans. The creation of technologies in sports help a lot in resolving arguments. These argument affect the fans causing emotional highs and lows, increasing anxiety and even creating a hostile environment for everyone, so how then can one enjoy the sport as a fan. These technologies where put in place for games to be free and square and even more enjoyable. Many internationally recognised games make use of technologies so that they can be more enjoyable and accurate (The main essence of games).
I think that fan's experience of a sport shouldn't take priority over refereeing accuracy because every sport has rules. Even though the sport should be an entertainment to the fans, it shouldn't be the top priority of the game. The top priority should be the fairness of the game. Even if a team wins a match by cheating, they wouldn't really enjoy it because it was not by their own effort. It's better to lose honourably than win shamefully.
In my opinion I think fair because say the teams are unfair like 3v2 it wouldn't be fair because there is one person missing on that team so the bigger amount on the team will most likely win. But say it was an equal amount like 3v3 it's a fair game and you won't know who will win. Bye everyone!
I think that sports like football without the VAR, will make the opposite being cheerful. Because referees use the VAR to check if the gameplay has a problem or not. Without it, how could the referees check if there is a problem or not and make the match fair? Imagine if your opponent team wins by cheating without the referees noticing that, how would you feel? Sad and angry right? To make things fair, they created this VAR to make the gameplay fair and bring back the excitement for the fans. If you were in this situation of a match not having the VAR, what would you do?
I think the fans’ experience should not be more important that refereeing accuracy because sports needs to be fair. I mean they can’t make mistakes to make the match more exciting, teams can lose without deserving it, and it’s not fair. For example they can stop the game to correct some decisions. However many people think that stop the match many times make it boring.
Hi cheerful topical talkers! I am independent _ tiger and I think that the fans' experience of a sport should take priority over refereeing accuracy. However, others might say that they SHOULDN'T, and I am not saying that I disagree but I am not saying that I agree either. Cause some might feel really confident to take priority over refereeing of a sport that they feel really confident in.
Thank you everybody!
Can you share why you think fans' experience should take priority?
I believe that the fan's enjoyment should take top priority over the rules and regulations of a sport. The fan is the paying customer, as well as the sole reason sports still exist. Simply put, there is no way that professional sports will still be a thing in 20 years if no one wants to watch them. The companies wouldn't get funding from tickets and ads, so the athletes wouldn't get paid, and eventually, they would leave. The fans keep the spirit of the game, and if no one is enjoying the game, there is simply no point of continuing to professionalize the sport.
Do you think that sports do enough to keep the fans engaged and entertained?
I strongly believe that accuracy in professional sports games is the most important and the fan's experience shouldn't take priority. It isn't fair to the athletes who trained their entire lives to lose a championship just because there was a bad call. In tight games where the score is tied, ref calls determine the player's future career. We are taking away opportunities from deserving players. Not only this, I believe that it is worse for fans to watch if there are bad calls. They will no longer want to go to games if its unfair. Why would they pay to watch a game thats imprecise? By focusing more on accuracy, we give wins to the team that actually deserves it and improve the viewing quality for fans.
I think the fans' experience of a sport shouldn't take priority over refereeing accuracy because fair decisions are essential to the integrity of the game. What is the point of watching a match if the final result is clearly wrong? A single refereeing mistake can decide a game, so accuracy matters just as much as excitement. For example, VAR can prevent a wrongly awarded goal or penalty in football that could completely change the outcome of an important match.
However, others might feel that too much reliance on technology interrupts the flow of the game and removes the excitement of spontaneous moments, making sport feel less emotional and less enjoyable to watch. I disagree with this because accuracy protects fairness . Can fans really enjoy the drama if they know a team won because of an obvious error? In the end, short delays are a small price to pay for results that everyone can trust.
Hello topical talkers! In my opinion the fan experience shouldn't be prioritised over referring accuracy because sports have rules and rules are make to be respected by all of the persons who take part of the event. Can you imagine a match of football where the rules aren't respected? It will be a complete chaos.
A few minutes ago I read some comments that said "fans experience must be prioritised" and I don't really agree. Yeah, fans should have a great time while watching a football match,but the rules shouldn't be influenced by their will. Every team should be treated equal in a match and the rules should be for everyone without exceptions.
Well done for clearly articulating your point in response to the ones you have already read.
Yes, definitely, I think this is a valid point, especially because no matter what decision the referee/umpire makes, there will always be a group of people that is upset at the decision that was made, because if it positively affects one side, then automatically it will negatively affect the other side.
Therefore, my opinion is: it is better for a fair call to be made, and more people upset, than to minimise the uproar by playing unfairly.
I believe that technology like VAR shouldn't be criticize by the fans due to them helping professionals make better call outs. Without VAR goals in football would be questioned and many fans would be complaining on what the refs are doing. Hand balls can occur in matches. Back in 2007, Messi who was a young star in FC Barcelona used his hand to "header'' a ball in the goal. Back then VAR wasn't implemented into the sport yet so the goal was allowed causing many of the opposing team side to become very angry at the refs for not catching Messi's action.
To many, VAR is a more reliable technology than using humans to conclude them. Even though, the final verdict isn't from the VAR its from the refs who call it meaning if the ref gets a large sum of money from a team the ref would be more biased to the team that didn't pay them a large sum of money.
However, some may feel VAR is bad and can lead to misunderstanding like the offside rule. The offside rule is when the player who is not on their team is nearer to the opponents goal than the defenders when the ball is passed to them. With that refs call offside even if their are only a few pixels pass the defenders. Making fans outraged due to it only being a few centimeters further away.
I think that fans' experience of a sport shouldn't come before refereeing accuracy. Sports are competitions where players or teams compete to see who performs best, and fair rules are what make the competition meaningful. In every game, referees or officials are there to make sure that the rules are followed and that the results are fair. Without there decisions for being accurate, the effort players put into the training and competing might go to waste.
Technology like VAR in football and Hawk-EYE in tennis helps referees make the right decision. These tools can correct mistakes that might change the outcome of a match. Even the game stops for a short time, it helps make sure the results is fair. If mistakes were ignored just to make the game more exciting for fans, it would be unfair to the players who worked hard to achieve victory.
However, some people might think that the fans' enjoyment should come first. They might feel that long pauses make the game slower and less entertaining.
I think that the experience of sports fans should not come before the accuracy of refereeing decisions because it is only fairness that makes any competition valid. Without accurate decisions, the excitement of sports fans can easily turn into anger and disappointment. An exciting experience can only be right when all sports fans are assured that the decisions were correct. For example, in football, if a handball or offside goal is not deemed right simply because sports fans want to have fun, then the team that has been denied the goal will feel cheated, and the debate will go on long after the final whistle has blown. Technology like VAR may slow down the game slightly, but it will make sure that the outcome is deserved and not demanded.
I have been reading the views of other Topical Talkers, and some individuals believe that the frequent checks make the game boring and the highs that sports fans feel. They believe that sports are all about passion, excitement, and shared experiences in the stadium. I understand the point, but I don’t agree with it. I believe that sports fans feel more excited when they know that the outcome is right.