Premier League clubs agree on use of VAR next season

The Premier League has announced that clubs in English football’s top flight have agreed “in principle” for the introduction of video assistant referees (VAR) in the 2019-2020 season.

In April clubs voted against using VAR for 2018-2019, the BBC reports, but the Premier League has been carrying out “non-live” trials during the current campaign.

After the successful use of VAR at the Fifa World Cup in Russia it will also be used in next season’s Uefa Champions League.

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The Premier League will now formally make a request to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) and Fifa to use VAR next season. The IFAB is made up of the four UK football associations - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - and Fifa.

In a statement, the Premier League said: “At a shareholders’ meeting today, clubs were provided with an update on the non-live VAR trials being undertaken by the League and Professional Game Match Officials [PGMOL] this season.

“Key learnings from VAR’s use in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, and other leagues across the world, were discussed in detail.

“The Premier League’s non-live testing programme will remain in place for the rest of this season, with a continued emphasis on those Saturday afternoons which have several matches being played concurrently, and developing a clear protocol for communicating VAR decisions to fans.”