EPL to scrap VAR rules?

The use of VAR (video assistant referee) technology to help match referees make decisions in a football match is still being debated, including in leagues like the Premier League. The Premier League, aka the English League, has used VAR technology since the start of the 2019/2020 season. Since then, VAR has often sparked controversy, ranging from the validity of goals, and penalties, to red cards.

A series of negative impacts resulting from the use of VAR technology in a Premier League match disturbed one of the contesting clubs, Wolverhampton. "The price we pay for a slight increase in accuracy goes against the spirit of our game," said Wolves' official statement regarding the use of VAR in the Premier League.

As reported by the BBC, Wolves also officially submitted a resolution to the Premier League competition operator regarding VAR. This resolution also means that the Premier League will review the use of VAR technology. The Premier League is now planning to hold a vote to determine whether VAR will still be used next season. This voting is planned to be held at a meeting of 20 member clubs in Harrogate, on June 6, 2024.

The Premier League itself said it 'recognizes concerns' about VAR but 'fully supports' the technology and will continue to work with refereeing body PGMOL to make improvements. From this voting, aka voting, it takes at least two-thirds of the total members or to be precise 14 votes to agree to have VAR removed from the Premier League. Not a few British media believe that many clubs will vote in favour of eliminating VAR from the Premier League competition starting next season.

Meanwhile, Premier League clubs have previously approved the use of semi-automatic offside technology which will be introduced in the 2024/2025 season. Ironically, Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology has only just been implemented in the 2023/2024 BRI Liga 1 competition. This technology has been used since the Championship Series. The discourse on using VAR has been circulating since 2023. PSSI ensures that this advanced technology will soon be used in BRI Liga 1 2023/2024.

After waiting for a process that lasted several months, VAR was finally implemented in BRI Liga 1 2023/2024. This technology is applied in the Championship Series. The semi-final first-leg match between Bali United versus Persib Bandung on Tuesday (14/5/2024) was the first BRI Liga 1 2023/2024 match to use VAR technology.