Wolverhampton Wanderers wrote a letter to the Premier League, requesting for the possible abolishment of VAR starting from the 2024-25 season.
The Premier League has acknowledged the position of the club and has stated that the 20 Premier League member clubs would be allowed to vote during the next shareholders meeting on June 6th either for or against the abolishing of the technology.
Amid the cloud the proposal has created, some fear abolishing the technology will take the league backwards. A few people feel the technology is not the problem, but the incompetence of the officials makes the technology look unreliable.
What Is The Basis Of The Proposal Against VAR?
🚨📺 OFFICIAL: letter sent to the Premier League regarding scrapping VAR.
"Wolves have formally submitted a resolution to the Premier League to trigger a vote at the league's AGM in June, on the removal of VAR from the start of the 2024/25 season.
The introduction of VAR in… pic.twitter.com/UvNQkjC5rY
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 15, 2024
Situations of poor use of the Video Assistant Referee have littered the 2023-24 season. One that stands out is the questionable disappearance of Luis Diaz’s goal for Liverpool against Tottenham. This has given a lot of fans, players, and club shareholders a lot of reason to be concerned about the technology.
Part of what was the basis of the letter from Wolverhampton Wanderers concerning the scrapping of the technology said:
“The introduction of VAR in 2019/20 was a decision made in good faith and with the best interests of football and the Premier League at its heart. However, it has led to numerous unintended negative consequences that are damaging the relationship between fans and football, and undermining the value of the Premier League brand, which include:
- Impact on goal celebrations and the spontaneous passion that makes football special.
- Frustration and confusion inside stadiums due to lengthy VAR checks and poor communication.
- A more hostile atmosphere with protests, booing of the Premier League anthem and chants against VAR.
- Overreach of VAR’s original purpose to correct clear and obvious mistakes, now overanalysing subjective decisions and compromising the game’s fluidity and integrity.”
Also Read: Astonishing Major League Soccer Attendance in 2024
Premier League Stance On The Wolves Proposal
According to Sky Sports, the stats showed that this season, the Video Assistant Referee has led to an increase in correct decisions from 82% to 96%. All the big leagues in the world employ and have even further advanced the technology in their leagues and Cup competitions.
The Premier League fears that abolishing the technology would lead to a serious negative impact in the reputation of the league as an elite league in world football.
It’s also clear from a statement put out by the Premier League that the Premier League is directly against this proposal, although they recognize that Wolverhampton is well within their rights as a member of the league to make such a proposal.
They hold the position that abandoning the technology would reduce the integrity of the league by leading to an increase in incorrect decisions.
The statement put out by the Premier League in response to the proposal said:
“The Premier League can confirm it will facilitate a discussion on VAR with our clubs at the Annual General Meeting next month.
Clubs are entitled to put forward proposals at Shareholders’ meetings and we acknowledge the concerns and issues around the use of VAR.
However, the League fully supports the use of VAR and remains committed, alongside PGMOL, to make continued improvements to the system for the benefit of the game and fans.”
What Possible Direction Will The Votes Go?
In a tweet posted to X, formerly Twitter, by a popular sports commentator and journalist, Ben Jacobs, he wrote:
“Several Premier League clubs, including multiple big six members, will vote to keep VAR.
Consensus is still that the technology is more help than than hindrance.
A lot of clubs want to see strong focus placed on improved application, and better communication on decisions to fans.
Removing VAR entirely, when it is still a work-in-progress, is seen as quite extreme by many, especially given plenty of improvements can still be made.”
For the rule to be changed and a vote passed, Wolverhampton Wanderers would need to gather support from two-thirds of the 20 teams in the Premier League, approximately 14 total votes.
About the Author
Ebenezer has been an avid writer for over a decade and a half. Within that period, he has garnered experience in various fields such as editing, graphics design, transcribing, sales, data analysis, and football management.
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