Premier League co-creator says VAR will remain despite impending vote

The emergence of VAR in English football was always going to be contentious, and it’s absolutely right to say that it hasn’t yet proved to be a hit with supporters or clubs.

Unlike the video reviews in rugby, cricket or tennis, the process isn’t seen by fans in the stadiums, and we’ve had the unedifying sight of thousands of supporters losing their minds at what was believed to be an important goal then being chalked off up to five minutes later.

It’s no wonder that Wolverhampton Wanderers put forward a motion to have VAR scrapped, and the vote is expected to happen later this week.

After years of VAR being around, it still isn’t streamlined enough to be considered as fit for purpose, though there has always seemed to be the argument that it’s the people that are using the technology that are the problem and not the technology itself.

VAR to stay despite Premier League vote

Premier League co-creator, Jon Smith, believes that despite pushback on the technology in certain quarters, it will remain and is likely to be updated.

“I don’t think VAR will be scrapped because I think there’s enough positive sentiment towards it,” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.

“I think the problem is all in the presentation, and the whole issue is the timeframe that it takes to make a decision.

“In the World Cup it was a lot faster, and that’s the system that should be followed. The officials absolutely need to present what is happening on screen in the grounds, so that the fans become part of it rather than just a waiting audience.

“They actually need to change it a bit where the lines that are drawn for the tightest decisions don’t determine whether the player is onside or offside.

“I like that expression ‘clear and obvious,’ which was the entire premise of VAR in the first place.”

It was believed that the technology used at the 2022 World Cup – Semi Automated Offside Technology – would come into effect in the Premier League from the start of the 2024/25 campaign.

That appears to be quicker and more accurate than what the officials working for Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) are currently using.

The use of the same may be the only thing that ensures that the vote proposed by Wolves is defeated.

There certainly seems to be an argument that going back to the way things were done pre-VAR, mistakes and all, is a more natural way of officiating a game, but with most other sports having a variation on the same theme in terms of VAR, football can’t really afford to be left behind.