A look at the key questions as Premier League clubs set to vote on scrapping VAR

Wolves say VAR is “undermining the value of the Premier League brand”.

VAR’s future in the Premier League has been called into question after Wolves proposed a vote next month to scrap it.

Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at what happens next.

What has happened?

Wolves want the sun to set on VAR (David Davies/PA)

Why Wolves?

Wolves boss Gary O'Neil has been a frequent critic of VAR this season — Wolves boss Gary O’Neil has been a frequent critic of VAR this season (Joe Giddens/PA)

What happens next?

What has the Premier League said?

The Premier League says it fully supports the continued use of VAR (Mike Egerton/PA)

Clubs also voted on April 11 to introduce semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) in the autumn. Top-flight sources have said the technology is expected to cut the average length of a VAR check for offside by 31 seconds.

League sources do not see any way in which SAOT could be kept if the rest of VAR was scrapped.

The league also points to the improvement in correct ‘key match incident’ decisions – up from 82 per cent in 2018-19 to 96 per cent in the current campaign. The Premier League is also working with the game’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to progress towards ultimately using VAR audio live in the future.

The league believes scrapping VAR would significantly impact on its reputation as a leading competition.

What about fans?

The Wolves 1877 Supporters Trust welcomed their club’s statement and called on other trusts to lobby their clubs in support of the proposal. A survey of almost 10,000 fans conducted by the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) last summer found almost two-thirds of fans (63.3 per cent) opposed VAR, with 74.6 per cent having supported its introduction in a 2017 survey.

The 2023 survey found just one in 20 who had experienced VAR in a stadium rated their experience of it as good or very good. More than 90 per cent agreed decisions take too long to make and 95 per cent highlighted VAR had removed spontaneity from goal celebrations.

“There are more correct decisions than ever but 19 out of 20 fans find VAR makes football less enjoyable because of delays and the removal of the immediate joy associated with goal celebrations,” the FSA said in a social media post on Thursday.

“Goal-line tech still has wider support as it is almost instantaneous.”

Does VAR still have its supporters?

Daniel Farke says Leeds would have been promoted automatically from the Championship if VAR had been in place (Nigel French/PA)

He said earlier this week: “I have 12 apologising letters at home already during the season with offside goals and penalties not given.

“If we would’ve used VAR during this season, we wouldn’t be in the play-offs. We would’ve been promoted automatically.”

Leeds would be one of the clubs voting on the proposal should they get promoted via the play-offs.