CONFEDERATIONS Cup fever hasn’t quite taken Russia by the scruff of the neck. Maybe it will be different in a year’s time, when the big show – rather than the reduced eight-team version – rolls into the country. For the time being however – and in sharp contrast to Brazil four years ago or South Africa in 2009 – it doesn’t quite feel as if the biggest show in sport is around the corner.

That said, other than the over-budget shambles that is the stadium in St Petersburg (which will host next Sunday’s final), the grounds are working fine. They are straight-forward to get to, security is tight but not overbearing and volunteers greet you with a smile. What the other eight grounds (six of them have yet to be finished) are like is anyone’s guess, but so far, so good. A bit of

authoritarianism at the top does help when it comes to meeting deadlines.

Thus the big story of the tournament has actually not been Russia-related: it’s the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system. It has been used before – in friendlies and in the Under-20 World Cup – but it’s the first time we’re seeing it in action in a real tournament with senior professionals. Whether it will be used in 2018 – as Fifa president Gianni Infantino hopes – will largely be determined on this showing.

The most obvious conclusion as the group stage comes to an end is that it will take some getting used to. There’s a natural flow to the game and VAR inevitably disrupts it, particularly as every goal is reviewed. Cedric’s goal for Portugal against Mexico took nearly two minutes to receive the green light from the VAR. The players didn’t even seem to be aware it was being reviewed, they had lined up to kick-off again when confirmation

arrived. Most frustrating perhaps for players and fans (both in the ground and watching on television) was that you had no real idea what part of the goal was being reviewed. Neither, for that matter, did the referee.

When Chile played Cameroon and Edu Vargas appeared to spring the offside trap and beat the keeper with a cool finish, he wheeled away, glanced at the assistant, noted his flag stayed down and proceeded to celebrate with his team-mates. Sixty-

eight seconds later – an eternity in these situations – the goal was disallowed. Replays showed he was marginally offside.

“If before, when you score in those situations, you look at the linesman, now I guess we’ll need to look at the referee and wait,” said a disconsolate Arturo Vidal, who had provided the assist (or non-assist as it turned out) for Vargas’s non-goal. “One day I’ll get used to it. But I’ve been playing football for 20 years, you can’t ask me to get used to it immediately.”

That’s one of the tolls VAR is going to take on our football-watching experience. The delay is inevitable. And the fact of the matter is that the vast majority of goals will, potentially, be accompanied by this sort of

uncertainty for the simple reason that wherever there is physical contact, there is potential for a foul. Fifa say you can’t have it both ways: you can go for speed or accuracy. And the latter is more important.

That part is true. Just as it’s true that, over time, VAR officials may become quicker as they too become accustomed to the process. But we won’t get instantaneous decisions or, really, any meaningful decision in less than 30, 45 seconds. The trials will tell us if we feel it’s still a price worth paying. In the meantime what Fifa can do is shed some light on what exactly is being reviewed – perhaps by granting access to the replays the VAR is watching. Einstein’s theory of relativity makes it clear the passage of time isn’t always constant: at least having something to look at might make the delay feel less interminable.

The other VAR Pandora’s box is one which, through Saturday morning, had not yet been opened. But it’s nonetheless relevant. Offside decisions are objective and the VAR has been instructed to rule decisively on even the slightest error. But what happens with decisions – like a tackle leading to a penalty or a contentious handball – that are down to a referee’s interpretation? Here, VARs can overrule if there is a “clear error” by the match official. Who, if he’s overruled, has the “last word”: he can then

review the overrule on an iPad pitch side and decide if he agrees that he has made a mistake. What constitutes a “clear error” however is, by its very nature, not quite clear. And further muddying the waters is the fact there might be a camera angle which the

officials simply couldn’t have seen. Is it still a “clear error”? That part is yet to be determined. And it’s bound to generate controversy.

All that said, it will come down to what degree VAR’s good outweighs the bad. It’s not a perfect system, there will still be mistakes. But if there are fewer than before – and, crucially, fewer big ones of the kind that get talked about forever – then maybe it will be worth it.

Either way, we won’t know until the trial – the full trial – is over. And even then we’ll still have doubt. A bit like some refereeing decisions.

LIONEL Messi turned 30 yesterday, which makes it as good a time as any to place him in a bit of historical context. He is the leading goalscorer in the history of La Liga and of the Argentina national team. He is second to Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of goals scored in Europe’s top five leagues and in Uefa competitions, but given he’s two years younger and not far behind, you wouldn’t bet against him breaking those records too.

His critics will continue to point to the fact he has never won a World Cup (though he will have another go, possibly two, before he retires) but there is no question his place in the football pantheon is secure.

More interesting is the fact that he becomes a free agent in 370 days. Both parties continue to provide umpteen assurances he will extend his Barcelona contract and there is no rush. And yet here we are, waiting.

It is frankly surreal to think that one of the greatest players in history at the peak of his powers could be available for nothing in just over a year and yet it’s a bit of a non-story. Contrast this with all the fretting over the likes of Gigio Donnarumma or Alexis Sanchez. Maybe that’s another thing that sets Messi apart.