The Premier League leaders have rejected the FSA’s conclusions based on their own internal studies, which indicate that fans are more in favor of improving the system rather than completely removing it. They argue that the high threshold set for intervention makes the English championship less intrusive than its European counterparts.
In an official statement, the Premier League stated: “As part of an ongoing dialogue with fans, research conducted by the Premier League indicates that fans are largely in favor of retaining VAR, but want to improve how it is used.” They added: “VAR allows for more accurate decisions.”
Over the past few seasons, there have been around 100 justified VAR interventions per season – cases where goals would have otherwise been wrongly awarded or disallowed, or red cards or penalties missed or wrongly given.
The league applies a high threshold for VAR intervention, with the referee’s decision standing. As a result, VAR is less intrusive in the Premier League than in other European leagues, including the Champions League, where VAR intervenes almost twice as often.
