- Premier League clubs to vote on future of VAR next month
- The Premier League hopes to have enough votes to block the measure
- CHRIS SUTTON: Fans are sick and tired of VAR… but it’s here to stay – Listen to the It’s all starting! podcast
I would love to see football get rid of VAR. I don’t understand how you can love the game and want to keep something that kills the joy.
The big clubs will probably vote in favor because they will see themselves as the likely beneficiaries of more sanctions and red cards.
Privately, referees would be happy to work without VAR. Technology has not brought them any respect or peace of mind, quite the opposite.
As a player I would have hated VAR. As a Kop fan, I understood that the most powerful force in football is that moment of ecstasy when a goal is scored.
The VAR has ruined it. Yes, there are still celebrations when the ball hits the net, but it comes with a handbrake as every possible foul and offside is checked before confirmation is given.
Premier League clubs will vote next month on the use of VAR in competitions
The Wolves provoked the vote after Gary O’Neil’s team felt greatly disadvantaged this season by the video referee system.
The Premier League hopes to have enough votes to veto the motion
The game has become much more intermittent. For the small percentage increase in correct decisions, the juice is not worth the squeeze.
If fully automated offsides prove to be as fast and foolproof as goal-line technology, that could make all the difference.
But in subjective matters like handball and contact between players, what sense does it have? People will not agree after a hundred checks.
Sweden has been a pioneer in rejecting VAR, probably because its clubs are majority owned by fans. It would be better for everyone in this country, including the referees, if we did the same.