Premier League Clubs Vote to Keep VAR

Premier League clubs have overwhelmingly voted 19-1 to retain video assistant referees (VAR) for the next season.

The vote was initiated by Wolves, who formally submitted a resolution to the Premier League in May to decide on the use of VAR for the 2024-25 season.

For VAR to be discontinued, 14 out of the 20 Premier League clubs would have needed to vote in favor. However, only Wolves supported the proposal, failing to garner any backing from other clubs.

There has been growing pressure on the Premier League to reform VAR, which was introduced at the start of the 2019-20 season.

During the meeting, it was confirmed that semi-automated offsides would be implemented in the autumn, and in-game VAR announcements would be introduced.

These in-game announcements, trialed during the 2023 Women’s World Cup, will have referees explain post-VAR decisions to fans in the stadiums.

Additionally, the Premier League stated that the “high threshold” for VAR officials to intervene in subjective on-field decisions would remain.

Wolves prompted the motion after experiencing several decisions that went against them last season. The club cited nine reasons to support banning VAR, including the effect on goal celebrations, increased hostility towards match officials, and the time taken to reach decisions.