Clubs for di Premier League don vote to keep di Video Assistant Referee (Var) for di league.
Na for inside statement di Premier League confam say Var go stay afta clubs vote on Thursday for dia annual general meeting.
One statement say “Premier League clubs today vote in favour to continue to operate Var for di Premier League.
“While Var dey produce more accurate decision making, we gree to make improvements for di benefit of di game and supporters.”
Tori be say di voting na 19 against 1 in favour of Var and na only Wolves vote for di scrapping of Var.
Some of di areas wey di Premier League wan improve for Var na
- To maintain a high threshold for Var intervention.
- To reduce di delays wey e dey cause for di game, thru di introduction of semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) as di primary tool.
- To improve di experience wey fans dey get by reducing di delays, inside-stadium announcements from referees afta a post-Var change of decision (wia e dey possible, to bring beta big screen wey go show replays to include all Var interventions).
- To work di Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOL) on how to implement more robust Var training to improve consistency.
- To increase transparency and communication around Var.
- To deliver a fan and stakeholder Var communication campaign, wey go further clarify di role of Var.
Five tins about Var controversy for di Premier League
Di Premier League claim say plenti wrong decisions wey happun for di Premier League for dey wrong 100 times more evri season if clubs vote to scrap video assistant referees (Var)
Di league bin send a briefing document to all 20 clubs before di annual general meeting on Thursday, 6 June, wey explain di reasons why dem feel say make VAR still dey.
Wolves bin formally submit one resolution to di Premier League for May, wey trigger a vote on if dem go continue to use Var or not.
Premier League clubs dey unlikely to vote thru dis proposal, even though dem don ready to introduce in-game Var announcements.
Di Premier League bin send one ‘Var Improvement Plan’ to clubs on Wednesday, wey di chief football officer Tony Scholes write.
Di document, wey BBC Sport see, include one section wey tok about di future impact if dem remove Var.
Among di consequences wey dem list na “match-defining” decisions from di referees wey dey field wey no correct and dem no go fit overturn am if Var no dey.
Dem agree say even though di number of times wey dem dey stop matches to go look var wey dey also cause delay go reduce, e go “significantly cause more officiating errors wey dey (around 100 per season), including some incidents wey pipo dey argue about wey happun, and e fit also decide, potentially di outcome of critically important matches.”
Di Premier League also tok say na only five interventions of Var wey no correct last season, compared to di 105 correct calls.
Dis na improvement on 2022-23, wen di league bin tok say na11 wrong VAR decisions to 105 wey bin dey corect.
Among all di reasons wey dem mention to keep Var na say di Premier League dey ” committed to significant operating cost elements of Var by contract for di next three years”.
And e go be say di Premier League na im go be di only major European league wey wan remove Var if di vote against am succeed.
The league also warn say e go dey “potentially damaging” to dia reputation, and English referees fit no get major assignments for Uefa or Fifa tournaments “as regular experience to operate both on-field wit Var and acting as Var for dia local league dey critical”.
‘Apathy, hostility and erosion of trust’
For di same briefing document, di Premier League accept say true true issues dey wit Var wey dem dey try to solve, including di amount of time e dey take to make decisions.
Di document say di average delay for one game for one single Var check dey last for 64 seconds for di 2023‑24 season, and e go up from 40 seconds for 2022-23.
One change wey dem dey expect to do na di use of in-game Var announcements from referees, wey Fifa introduce for some of dia competitions last year, including di 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Most Premier League clubs fit welcome dis changes BBC Sport understands Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham dey among di clubs wey want Var to stay, but dem dey ask for improvements.
Liverpool too no support di removal of Var.
But Wolves want make dem scrap Var, dem send out dia own briefing paper on Wednesday.
Di club point out issues like di negative impact wey Var get on match-going fans and dia experience for games, as well as wetin dem claim say no too dey important and get impact on correct decisions.
“Wolves argue say di use of Var don lead to increased disengagement among di fans wey dey attend Premier League matches due to di adverse effects for dia match experience.
Dem add say e don cause apathy, hostility and lack of trust for football authorities and officials,” dem tok inside di paper.
Dem add say: “Premier League data show say correct decisions increase from 82% pre-Var (before dem introduce Var) to 96% wit Var, wey highlight how effective e dey take reduce errors.
“If we keep di argument on whether di data dey credible and convincing or not for one side, while overall accuracy fit don increase to a debatable degree, di cost in terms of match enjoyment and fan engagement plenti pass dis benefits.
“Di integrity of di game dey compromised by long interruptions and inconsistent application of Var protocols.”
