The Premier League's controversial Video Assistant Referee system has shown remarkable improvement, with official figures revealing a dramatic 42% reduction in VAR-related errors during the previous season.
Significant Drop in VAR Mistakes
Referee authorities are celebrating substantial progress in VAR implementation after statistics confirmed just 18 officially recorded errors throughout the entire campaign. This represents a significant decrease from the 31 mistakes acknowledged during the 2023/24 season and an even more substantial improvement from the 35 errors recorded in the 2022/23 period.
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) attributes this positive trend to multiple factors, including enhanced training programmes and fewer missed subjective interventions. The organisation also highlighted that the average delay for VAR decisions has been reduced to 39 seconds, down considerably from 64 seconds in the previous season.
Training Expansion and Team Dynamics
A crucial development behind the improved statistics involves the expansion of VAR-trained officials. Currently, 19 Premier League referees have received comprehensive VAR training, with an additional seven officials from outside the top flight also qualified to operate the technology.
Richard Bevan, Chief Executive of the League Managers' Association, recently disclosed that Premier League managers have been advocating for consistent officiating teams. Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Bevan explained: "Premier League managers would like to see the VAR referee being someone who is refereeing with the man on the pitch every week, so there's not a nervous relationship."
He added that this approach would help officials understand each other's operating styles more effectively and confirmed that PGMOL chief Howard Webb is working towards implementing this system.
Practical Challenges and Future Prospects
Despite managers' preferences, creating permanent refereeing teams presents logistical challenges. The existing system requires officials to avoid matches where they might have geographical or affinity conflicts.
For instance, Geordie referee Michael Oliver cannot officiate Newcastle United matches or games involving North East rivals Sunderland. Similarly, Australian official Jarred Gillett, reportedly a Liverpool supporter, does not participate in matches involving Liverpool or Everton.
These necessary rotations make maintaining consistent officiating teams difficult, but PGMOL remains optimistic about continued improvement. The organisation emphasises that their statistics, compiled by an independent key match incident panel, demonstrate clear progress despite occasional controversies like the recent disallowed Virgil van Dijk goal during Liverpool's match against Manchester City.
Bevan concluded: "Recruitment is a big issue for them, and training and development. I think they will get there eventually, but it's about trying to make fewer errors, because VAR is here to stay."
