PREM fans are set to see FEWER VAR interventions next season – as a greater weight is given to the referee’s on-field decision.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb wants the Stockley Park video bunker to only intervene when a referee has made an obvious blunder.
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His guidance will move from VAR intervention for a “clear and obvious” mistake to a situation where the original call is “clearly wrong”.
The subtle change in the wording comes after a season of growing controversy – despite the lowest number of changed decisions since the technology was adopted in 2019-20.
This season saw 107 on-field calls overturned after video intervention, with 31 of those being goals ruled out for offside.
That compares with 123 in 2020-21, 121 the following season and 114 last term.
But Webb, who is fully backed by Prem chiefs, is determined to raise the standard and ensure the “higher bar” for overturns is maintained and even risen – as that is what English fans want.
The new guidance is a way of underpinning the authority of the referees, with their initial stance on key decisions effectively given more weight.
VARs will be told they can only recommend a pitchside review if it is absolutely clear that a mistake has been made – such as Tomas Soucek’s handball “goal” in the latter stages of Manchester City’s title-clinching win over West Ham or dangerous over the top tackles.
In the vast majority of cases, though, especially in what are subjective calls by the referee, the on-field decision will stay.
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The move comes ahead of next month’s Annual General meeting when clubs are expected to emphatically reject Wolves’ call for VAR to be scrapped in the Prem.
PGMOL’s analysis of the season was that there were 31 errors after VAR review over the course of the campaign.
Of those, only six were down to incorrect interventions by Stockley Park, with 25 of them due to missed interventions – when the VAR should have recommended an overturn.
Webb has already refined the VAR appointment process, with a smaller pool of officials on duty at Stockley Park.
He also demanded a significant change to communications between officials in the wake of the Luis Diaz “offside” blunder at Tottenham.
Since then, as adjudged by the five-member Key Match Incident panel, there has been one mistake every 19 matches, a significant improvement.
Delays while waiting for VAR calls averaged just over 60 seconds.
But PGMOL is confident the adoption of limb-tracking offside technology will knock up to 45 seconds off the average delay for offside calls once it is adopted early next term.
Webb is also seeking to continue the progression to a specialist pool of VAR crews, meaning fewer Stockley Park appointments for top flight refs.
And with referees being mic’d up to explain changed decisions to fans inside the ground and at home for the first time, it is hoped that the system will earn more confidence from fans and clubs alike.
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