VAR: has football crossed a refereeing rubicon?

Growing anger over the use of video technology in football has been kicked up a notch further by high-profile incidents in recent matches. 

Since being introduced into English football in 2019, the use of the "video assistant referee" (VAR) has been a matter of much debate. Now, in the wake of what Metro called a "controversial weekend" for the tech, Labour leader and keen football fan Keir Starmer has thrown his weight behind calls to reform the system.

'We cannot suddenly ditch VAR'

Nottingham Forest released a furious statement on X following their Premier League defeat to Everton on Sunday, claiming they had been denied three clear penalties and accusing the VAR of being a fan of their relegation rivals Luton.

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Just hours later, Coventry City were denied a place in the FA Cup final after staging a thrilling comeback from 3-0 down against Manchester United at Wembley. A last-minute extra-time winner by the Championship side was disallowed in a marginal offside decision, and they then lost the penalty shoot-out to their Premier League opponents.

Speaking at the FA's headquarters near Burton upon Trent, Starmer said in reference to the FA Cup semi-final: "It's a really well-worked goal, and it's ruled out because there's what, a toenail of difference between the attacker and the defender? Don't tell me a toenail gives you an advantage in football."

"Sorry to be a killjoy," said The Mirror's chief football writer John Cross, "but the offside decision to disallow what would have been Victor Torp's extra-time winner was the correct one". Just because a Coventry comeback "would have been a great fairytale, we cannot suddenly ditch VAR".

VAR has made hundreds of correct calls since its introduction, said The Guardian in an editorial last year, but they have been "overshadowed by numerous controversial decisions – especially those later accepted by referees to be wrong".

While technology is used to make real‑time decisions in cricket, rugby and tennis, "interruptions are part of those sports". But "in football, VAR reduces spontaneity and introduces stoppages", which "slows down – and lengthens – the most beautiful game".

'About keeping the game an art'

There are many who see only one way out of the current mess: scrapping VAR entirely.

"Yes, it could be better," said John Nicholson on Football 365, "but that would only bring it back to the standard of refereeing before VAR. There's a level that cannot be exceeded because people are not perfect. Accept it."

It is worth recalling that VAR was introduced as a "check on only the gravest refereeing oversights, not to re-referee every decision", said The Times. "Its increasing use outside this remit risks entrenching a sense of unfairness among fans."

Yet despite the outcry from clubs, fans and pundits alike, data suggests VAR has improved the accuracy of decisions by 14%.

The solution, then, is "not to abolish VAR", said the paper, but to use it "sparingly and increase transparency by broadcasting conferrals. The halting way VAR is employed causes confusion in the stands and stasis on the pitch, while its opacity fuels baseless ­conspiracy. To restore lost drama and a sense of fair play, spectators must be let in on the action."

Peter Walton, a Premier League referee from 2003-12, told The Times's senior sports writer Matt Dickinson that "it's not about making the game a science". Rather, "it's about keeping it as an art and leaving it as a debate", he said.