Football Federation Australia's decision this season to be part of a global trial of video assistant referees hasn't been met with universal approval, even from those who have benefited from reviews that have gone their way.
And on the evidence of Friday night's Melbourne City v Perth Glory game there is still a long way to go.
City crashed 3-1 at home to Glory, but the game changed dramatically when referee Daniel Elder decided to seek video assistance for an incident in the City penalty area when Osama Malik had thudded into Perth's teenage midfielder Jacob Italiano with a crude challenge. It looked like Italiano did not have control of the ball and it went wide of Eugene Galekovic's post just before Malik skidded in with a high tackle.
After a lengthy delay the VAR ruled that Malik should be sent off and a penalty awarded. Glory converted to take a 2-1 lead, and 10-man City were chasing the game thereafter, conceding a third late in the match.
It might have been expected that Glory coach Kenny Lowe would be full of praise for the VAR, but he is not a fan.
Lowe believes that human error is part of the game, and says that the "robbed by a terrible decision" stories that inevitably occur help frame the sport's narrative.
His City counterpart, Warren Joyce, was far more circumspect, but admits he is baffled by how long the process takes and the way it might alter the essential character of the game.
"People don't look at the incident any more, its emotion ... it's not a penalty or a sending off, it's a VAR. All of a sudden it's a different context [to the game]. I thought it was a bit rough for a red," he said of Malik's send-off.
"I think the way they look at it is to see if the ref has made a howler, not to see if it's a penalty. They are judging the referee, not the incident. If you are going to use it, judge the incident."
The character of the sport could be changed, and not for the better, said Lowe.
"I like going out with my mates and arguing that black was white and white was black because it brings something," he said..
"Don't make it clinical, don't get rid of the romance, don't get rid of the things that make the game. You want talking points, you don't want it sterile ... you've got someone fallible on the pitch waiting for someone upstairs who is also fallible so you've got double jeopardy, seems a crazy thing to do.
"It's like getting married and marrying another bird and not telling the first one, you're always going to be in trouble aren't you, you know what I mean?"
Joyce believes whatever process is used should be much quicker.
"It's a waste of time talking about refereeing decisions. I will probably only get myself in trouble," Joyce said.
"It's a weird one, there's got to be something a bit more instant. I honestly don't want to get into it because it's the rule isn't it, you're doing it and you're trying it out. I think it's plain to see the problems."
Although disappointed by the final score, Joyce praised the way his 10 men tried to get a result and dominated the second half despite their numerical disadvantage.
"We didn't start well. We played more attacking players than we've ever played in any game this season and we didn't start with the same intensity that we had started in other games," he said.
"I think the second half [the players] were magnificent. The attitude, the commitment and the willingness to drive the game for one another - I thought we dominated the second half, showed a lot of fitness and running power and created good opportunities and were good value for a goal.
"We certainly didn't deserve to lose 3-1. It's a cruel way to get a third goal [scored against us] and not deserved and it makes it look a different game."
