06 June 2024 , 04:00
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Premier League clubs will vote on whether or not to scrap VAR when they meet at an annual general meeting on Thursday.
The proposal comes after a season that has seen a host of high profile errors from the system, including the failure to award a goal that was shown to be onside for Liverpool in their loss at Tottenham. Wolves are the club driving the vote having been hard done by numerous times.
VAR was introduced for the 2019/20 season and has continued to be divisive ever since. The proposal needs 14 votes from the 20 clubs for it to change, and it is understood that Wolves will get nowhere near the required number with VAR set to stay.
Champions Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham are among clubs who want to keep VAR, but are demanding that improvements are made, according to the BBC. Another top flight club has said the VAR system at the moment "isn’t working" and there "clearly are issues".
Wolves, when they tabled the motion, explained their motives in a statement. It read: “There is no blame to be placed – we are all just looking for the best possible outcome for football – and all stakeholders have been working hard to try and make the introduction of additional technology a success.
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“However, after five seasons of VAR in the Premier League, it is time for a constructive and critical debate on its future. Our position is that the price we are paying for a small increase in accuracy is at odds with the spirit of our game, and as a result we should remove it from the 2024/25 season onwards.”
One change that is set to be introduced from next season in thde use of in-game VAR announcements from referees. FIFA introduced the trials at a number of its competitions last year and confirmed this would be extended after positive feedback.
Wolves are struggling to get enough support to scrap VAR (Getty Images)The match referee will only be confirming decisions, rather than the process of how they arrived at that decision. No discussions involving the VAR will be heard, but the Premier League view the concept as a step forward.
Howard Webb, who heads up the PGMOL, has been a strong defender of VAR and stated earlier this season that it "would be foolish to take away a tool that can remove clear errors from the game - almost 40 this season. Usually we have seen around 100 situations rectified through the use of VAR. Why would you want to take that away and leave those errors in the game?"
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