VAR is here to STAY! Premier League clubs vote to keep video technology – with just ONE team rebelling – as they promise to it will get better on delays, communication and training for refs

Wolves lost their vote to scrap VAR by a resounding 19-1 on Thursday as their fellow Premier League clubs decided video technology should stay, though they have insisted on improvements being made.

For the West Midlands side to see their bombshell motion passed ahead of the 2024-25 season, they required a 14-club majority to agree with their assertion that it is ‘damaging the relationship between fans and football’, but they found no allies once the voting began.

At the annual general meeting held in Harrogate, it was instead agreed that they need to focus on how to improve the system and its reputation. 

While the Premier League and refereeing body PGMOL will continue to lobby football’s lawmakers IFAB to allow them to broadcast live video and audio during VAR reviews, six key areas were focused on during discussions with clubs on Thursday.

• Maintaining a high threshold for VAR intervention to deliver greater consistency and fewer interruptions to the flow of games 

Premier League clubs have voted to continue to use VAR despite an increase in fan fury over the technology

Premier League clubs are believed to have voted 19-1 in favour of keeping the technology

Premier League CEO Richard Masters was pictured leaving the AGM in Harrogate on Thursday

•  Reducing delays, primarily through the introduction of semi-automated offside technology and the maintained high threshold for VAR intervention

• Improving fan experience through a reduction in the delays, in-stadium announcements from referees after a post-VAR change of decision and where possible, an enhanced offering of big screen replays to include all VAR interventions

• Working with the PGMOL on the implementation of more robust VAR training to improve consistency, including an emphasis on speed of process while preserving accuracy

• Increasing transparency and communication around VAR, including expanded communications from the Premier League and through broadcast programming such as Match Officials Mic’d Up, the television show hosted by Howard Webb and Michael Owen in which supporters can listen to how decisions were reached in previous matches

• The delivery of a fan and stakeholder VAR communication campaign, which will seek to further clarify VAR’s role in the game to participants and supporters

While most of the Premier League’s clubs backed VAR’s presence in football, the outcome of Thursday’s vote was not entirely celebrated by fans who are frustrated with its usage.

Malcolm Clarke, chair of the Football Supporters’ Association, said: ‘Support for VAR has collapsed since its introduction into English football – it’s clear that in its current form it has made the match a less enjoyable experience. So much so that more than two-thirds of supporters now say they are against it.

Wolves were thought to have been keen to proceed with the vote despite anticipating a considerable defeat

Semi-automated technology is hoped to eliminate offside errors in the 2024-25 season 

Wolves had a number of decisions go against them this season including the penalty which wasn’t given for Andre Onana clattering into Sasa Kalajdzic during a 1-0 Man United victory

‘There’s a growing feeling from fans that the increase in decision-making accuracy is not a price worth paying for the huge impact VAR has had on the match-going experience. Enormous changes to the current system are required to improve things, particularly for supporters in stadiums. We cannot carry on like this.’

Semi-automated offside technology is set to be introduced as of next season. It is hoped that the new system, which involves optical player tracking and a virtual offside line, will ensure decisions are reached more quickly and accurately. 

Fans are also likely to get to see graphics of close offside calls, both at home and inside stadiums on the big screens.