Schwingen doesn’t need the video evidence, but it does need a reform

There it is again, this discussion that makes some wrestlers so uncomfortable. On Sunday at the Swiss Confederation in Pratteln, there was this decisive last situation in the final round, which raised the question again in the days that followed: Does this sport need video evidence so that there will be fewer doubts about the king’s election in the future?

The final course at the Federal 2019 in Zug had already given rise to discussion. At that time, Joel Wicki was in the role of the sufferer because Christian Stucki might not have embedded him completely in the sawdust. This time luck in the competition was on Wicki’s side: the judges would probably not have recognized his winning move if they had seen that Wicki no longer had his hand on Matthias Aeschbacher’s pants.

The accusation of lack of justice was raised from the audience. And indeed, the verdict for Aeschbacher is very bitter. It was perhaps the only chance in his life to become the wrestler king. When the next federal event takes place, he will already be 33 years old.

An essence of this sport, that luck and bad luck balance each other out in a career

Supporters of the video evidence believe that fates like Aeschbacher’s should be avoided in the interests of fairness. And the Video Assistant Referee, VAR for short, would take the pressure off the shoulders of the judges, who are not used to being the focus of national interest anyway.

And then there are the others, whose ears hurt just hearing the expression VAR because Anglicisms in wrestling are frowned upon, especially among the many traditionalists. They object that it is an essence of their sport that good and bad luck balance each other out in a career. Swinging is not an exact science and there is always room for interpretation when assessing a scene, and the introduction of VAR does not change that.

You can also see in football that certain situations cannot be clearly clarified even with video studies and that discussions about controversial decisions therefore do not disappear. Above all, the VAR would do one thing: rob the sport of its emotions and make the tension disappear – without the technical assistant offering much added value. Wrestling festivals would lose some of their drama and become more lengthy. And anyway: It would be too complicated and too expensive to install the VAR on the swing courts.

When weighing the pros and cons, one has to conclude that it would be the wrong way to go for swinging to try to introduce VAR. It’s good that Stefan Strebel, the head of division of the Confederation in Pratteln, is addressing the VAR option because it’s triggering an important debate. But the VAR would be too much of a threat to the wrestling world, in which sporting verdicts are not questioned. It works and should therefore be left as it is. The athletes grow up having to accept jury decisions. In an online survey by SRF Sport, 71 percent of 27,000 voters spoke out against the VAR.

Due to the athleticism, the actions in this sport have become too fast for the eye of the observer

After the last two finals at the federal level, a reform is still necessary. Because there is too much at stake in such a fight these days: a lot of fame, a lot of money. That’s why those responsible in the wrestling association have to think about whether they shouldn’t use more judges in the most important final walks. Currently there is one referee standing in the ring and two supporting him at a small table. That is no longer enough, because due to the increased athleticism, the actions in this sport have become too fast for the eye of the observer.

There had been two judges in the ring before. So those who shy away from reforms in the swing could be sold this approach as a reintroduction.