Three-quarters of Premier League fans are against the use of the video assistant referee (VAR), according to a survey by the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA).
Just under 8,000 fans from all 20 top-flight clubs responded to the survey. Of those, 90% disagreed that VAR has improved the matchday experience, 91% said it harms goal celebrations, and 94% said it does not make watching football on TV more enjoyable.
“The results show that most fans want VAR removed,” Thomas Concannon, the FSA’s Premier League network manager, told BBC Sport.
“We’ve all lived with VAR for so long now that we’ve seen the negative impact it’s had on the game. People are annoyed about the time that it takes, annoyed about the accuracy, and annoyed about the [reduced] spontaneity. It does take away from what football is meant to be and what those special moments are about.”
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The Premier League responded, saying: “We recognise the importance of minimising the impact of VAR on the supporter experience. As part of ongoing dialogue with supporters, Premier League research indicates fans are largely in favour of keeping VAR, but improving the way it is used.”
Fan views on VAR
The FSA survey covered regular matchgoers, with more than half attending at least 15 games a season. Key findings include:
- 72% disagree that VAR has made refereeing more accurate
- 74% say the reasoning behind VAR decisions is unclear
- 86% are worried about VAR’s expanding remit
- 72% oppose using VAR to check corners
- 52% oppose using VAR to check second yellow cards
Concannon said: “You can understand that the clubs and league want to try and make sure that the decisions are correct, because there’s so much money involved, but it becomes a little bit hard to take for a supporter when they see a goal disallowed because there is a hair offside.
“If it’s not going to speed up and it’s not going to take away the controversy of what we still debate nowadays, that’s why the supporters are voting in the way that they have.”
Fewer than half of respondents support referees announcing decisions over the stadium speaker system, and most do not believe it makes the process clearer.
In contrast, 93% of fans support the use of goal-line technology in the Premier League.
Scraping VAR unlikely
There is little chance of VAR being removed or its remit reduced. In 2024, 19 of 20 clubs voted to keep VAR, with only Wolves voting against it.
For VAR to be scrapped, 14 clubs would have to vote against it following a new proposal.
The independent key match incident (KMI) review panel estimates refereeing accuracy at 96–97% since VAR was introduced, while delays caused by VAR have dropped by 25% in two seasons.
An FA Cup tie between Aston Villa and Newcastle, which had no VAR, featured three significant refereeing errors, leading some to call it the “best advert yet for the technology.”
The Premier League said: “VAR delivers more correct decisions. In recent seasons, there have been around 100 correct VAR overturns per season, instances where goals would otherwise have been incorrectly awarded or disallowed, or red cards or penalties missed or wrongly given.
“The league applies a high threshold for VAR intervention, with the referee’s call taking precedence. As a result, VAR is less intrusive in the Premier League than in other European leagues, including the Champions League, where VAR intervenes almost twice as often.”
FSA calls for action
Concannon urged the league to listen to fans: “Supporters naturally raise their concerns, and they fall on deaf ears far too much. That’s really disappointing, especially when all we hear is that the fans are the lifeblood of the game.
“Don’t just ignore what supporters are telling you in great numbers, that the enjoyment of football isn’t there any more in comparison to what it used to be.”
(BBC)
