A sequence of play is under review via video assistant referee during a Premier League game between Chelsea and Brighton at the American Express Community Stadium in Brighton, England, May 15, 2024. /CFP
Mark Bullingham, chief executive of England's Football Association (FA), confirmed on Friday that the organization has no intention of joining the Premier League to abolish the video assistant referees (VAR) system.
"We like matches with as few mistakes as possible," Bullingham said at FIFA's annual congress in Bangkok. "(I don't think) you can ever reach perfection, and VAR still needs fine-tuning, but, overall, we think it is helping to eradicate some errors, and that's a good thing. So, we're supportive, but it's obviously up to every league whether they adopt it or not."
VAR was introduced to the Premier League in the 2019-20 campaign, but it has caused a lot of controversy since then, including delays during games and failing to improve referees' decision-making as it was expected to.
Wolverhampton Wanderers submitted a resolution to the English top league this week for a vote at the annual meeting on June 6 to scrap VAR.
A sequence of play is under review via video assistant referee during an FA Cup game between Coventry City and Manchester United at Wembley Stadium in London, England, April 21, 2024. /CFP
"There is no blame to be placed – we are all just looking for the best possible outcome for football – and all stakeholders have been working hard to try and make the introduction of additional technology a success," the club said in a statement. "However, after five seasons of VAR in the Premier League, it is time for a constructive and critical debate on its future."
"Our position is that the price we are paying for a small increase in accuracy is at odds with the spirit of our game, and as a result we should remove it from the 2024/25 season onwards," Wolves added.
The Premier League will introduce semi-automated offside technology, the multi-camera-based tracking system used by UEFA, from the 2024-25 season. This new measure, in addition to referees explaining their decisions in the stadium, should help fans accept VAR better, according to Bullingham.
"Our expectation is that (it) will be coming in for next season, and (referees) will be explaining their decisions," he said. "That's a continuation of the trial at (last year's) Women's World Cup. What we experimented (with) in FIFA competitions is (that) they have multiple languages to deal with, and it worked really well there, so there is no reason why it won't work well everywhere else."