VAR has never been an easy bedfellow for English football. The Premier League was the last of Europe’s major leagues to adopt it in 2019-20 and it’s never been accepted. It’s never got to grips with what it wants VAR to be, and we’re left with a hybrid model that satisfies no one.
Step forward Wolverhampton Wanderers, who on Wednesday became the first club to put their head above the parapet and call for VAR to be scrapped ahead of next season.
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Premier League clubs will vote on the motion when they meet for their AGM in Harrogate on June 6. Wolves’ resolution is unlikely to get the 14 votes it needs to pass — though it would be no surprise if Nottingham Forest are one of the clubs to support it given their recent outbursts — but it will at least provide the opportunity to reflect and reset.
The clubs who regularly take part in European competition are unlikely break ranks with the wider game. For all Mikel Arteta’s complaints earlier this season, the Arsenal boss has regularly spoken of his desire to work with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). ESPN is aware of at least one other club outside of the Big Six who won’t vote in favour.
The clubs have invested huge sums to introduced semi-automated offside (SAOT) VAR next season — it was only voted through last month — and that would have to be scrapped too. They have also put vast resources into the VAR hub in Stockley Park. Money alone shouldn’t be the reason VAR stays, but this investment clearly wasn’t made for one season — especially SAOT, which involves a contract with a new technology partner. Clubs cannot scrap VAR and still implement SAOT.
Over the five seasons of VAR, when all decisions for and against are tallied up, Wolves have a net score of -17 (e.g. 15 decisions for, 32 against, to come to -17.) The next worst-affected is Arsenal, who are way back on -7. Of the 13 clubs to play in the top flight throughout, only two others have a negative VAR score (Tottenham -3, West Ham -5).
This isn’t to denigrate Wolves’ stance, but it does explain why they of all clubs would be the ones to make this move.
Wolves have had three VAR errors logged against them by the Independent Key Match Incidents Panel this season, yet that only paints part of the picture of their frustration. They’ve had a catalogue of other decisions they’ve disagreed with, notably a handball penalty awarded on the field to Luton Town and a late equaliser disallowed by the VAR for offside against West Ham United.
It was the goal against West Ham which led manager Gary O’Neil to confront referee Tony Harrington afterwards, resulting in a Football Association charge and a one-match touchline ban. In the days that followed, Wolves chairman Jeff Shi issued a statement which gave an indication of what was to come.
