VAR here to stay – Premier League clubs to reject attempts to ban it


 
 
 
 
 
 

Premier League clubs are to meet on Thursday.

It is the annual general meeting with a number of issues to discuss and vote on.

Amongst those issues for the 20 Premier League clubs to consider is VAR.

Wolves having put in a proposal to get rid of it in the Premier League.

However, BBC Sport (see below) and other media saying the Wolves proposal will not get the support it needs.

Indeed, many journalists are saying that their information is that there was so little support for the Wolves proposal, it won’t even need to be voted upon.

Instead, the Premier League clubs said to be looking at other initiatives to improve the use of VAR.

For me, this is what it is all about.

It is crazy just how badly VAR has been implemented in the Premier League but that doesn’t mean we should go back to the bad old days of watching matches on TV, seeing countless big mistakes made by match officials and the cheats encouraged to try and win decisions by any means possible. However, whilst those of us watching on TV able to see all of this going on, the match officials before VAR not having a clue about any of it.

It isn’t the VAR technology at fault for the current shambles, it is the human element.

The human stupidity in terms of how the Premier League have decided to use VAR, then on top of that, the human element when it comes to implementing those VAR strategies during matches.

BBC Sport report – 5 June 2024:

‘Premier League clubs are unlikely to vote through Wolves’ proposal to scrap the use of the video assistant referee when member clubs meet at an annual general meeting on Thursday, 6 June, but in-game VAR announcements are set to be introduced.

Wolves formally submitted a resolution to the Premier League in May, which triggered a vote on retaining the use of VAR.

However, while Wolves stand by their decision to raise the issues after a string of decisions went against them last season, it is thought the club have little chance of getting the 14 votes needed for their proposal to be accepted.

BBC Sport understands Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham are among clubs who want to keep VAR, but are demanding that improvements are made.

One other Premier League club has said the VAR system at the moment “isn’t working” and there “clearly are issues” with the system.

While Wolves’ proposal is set for defeat, most clubs believe the current situation needs a major overhaul and Howard Webb, head of refereeing body PGMOL, has said changes to VAR are being looked at.

One expected change is the use of in-game VAR announcements from referees, which the Premier League is likely to trial from next season.

World governing body Fifa introduced the trials at a number of its competitions last year and confirmed this would be extended after positive feedback.

Although the match referee will only be confirming decisions after they have been made and no discussions involving the VAR will be heard, the Premier League view the concept as a step forward.

It is in line with the drive for greater transparency from Webb, who defended the standard of refereeing in April.

The Premier League is confident the introduction of semi-automated offsides at some point in the autumn, after the 2024-25 season has started, will help speed up decisions, although the time taken to award Olympiakos’ winning goal in the Uefa Conference League last week underlined not all decisions are reached quickly with the system.

It is understood Webb and the Premier League would like to go further but are constrained by current regulations set by the game’s lawmaking body, the International Football Association Board.’