The English Premier League officially announced that the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) will be used in every Premier League match starting in the 2019/20 season. At the meeting of the Premier League team stockholders with the league which was held in London on Thursday (11/15), representatives of the teams expressed their agreement with the use of VAR next season.
The meeting also discussed the latest developments regarding non-live VAR trials conducted by the competition organizers with Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). The results of the VAR trials in the FA Cup and League Cup matches were also discussed in detail at the meeting.
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey thinks that the decision to use VAR is a good thing. "I think that is a good thing. I know that many people oppose it but we must accept it now and move forward. We have seen in this season that there have been a number of incidents that could be considered wrong, especially this weekend when there were a number of goals that were ruled out when they should not have happened, "he told BBC Radio 5.
He also added that field court officials really need VAR to make the right decisions in the field. "The referees still want to get out and get the right match key decision, it is very important that the referee does not hide behind the VAR - they will still make this big call correctly."
At first, the use of VAR was opposed by English teams. But now they use it after La Liga, Serie A, and the Bundesliga.
Southampton manager Mark Hughes also emphasized how much the VAR is needed. "All major sports have video reviews and for some reason, the English Premier League watched by the whole world is still in the stone age," he said as reported by the BBC.
In the fourth UEFA Champions League matchday between Manchester City and Shakhtar Donetsk, the middle of the previous week, Man City manager Pep Guardiola also complained about the absence of VAR.
The use of VAR is not only a debate for Southampton or Man City, but VAR is actually a homework for Manchester United and Liverpool. Because the headquarters of the two teams, Old Trafford and Anfield did not have a large enough screen to show a re-recording of VAR to supporters present at the stadium.
In the FA Cup fourth round between Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion last season, supporters at Anfield were confused by Craig Dawson's goal at the end of the first half.
VAR shows that the ball first touched Gareth Barry who stood in an offside position. Not long ago, the Anfield public was again confused when referee Craig Pawson gave a penalty for Liverpool. Video footage shows that Jack Livermore made contact with Mohamed Salah which led to a penalty for Liverpool.
The two VAR recordings in the match could not be witnessed by supporters present at Anfield and could only be witnessed by viewers at home who watched on television.
Meanwhile, English Premier League internal sources said that they did not force United and Liverpool to install a large screen. "We don't want to force United or Liverpool to put on a big screen but there must be a discussion about how fans will be notified," he said as reported by FOX Sports.
The Premier League side also confirmed that they were still developing and looking for ways to communicate VAR to supporters present at the stadium. "There will continue to be an emphasis on Saturday afternoon and develop clear protocols for communicating VAR decisions to fans."
Most of the people support VAR, but some oppose it. They say that referee, diving, and cheating are part of the game. The traditionalists argue that ability to dive and to cheat is also part of skills and it makes the game more interesting. Legendary goal by Diego Maradona was one of the examples of it. But, in modern sports technology is something that we can't avoid. It is also part of the game now. Moreover, "Fairplay" is not just some word we put in the stadium, but we should put our resources to make it happen. Welcome, VAR!
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