Statistics show VAR is getting better despite recent Premier League mishaps
The use of VAR is actually improving according to data, despite a string of high-profile errors which have left fans fuming.
The Video Assistant Referee system continues to attract scrutiny and criticism from fans, managers and media, who have become irate over its repeated failure to reach what appear to be correct decisions. Only last weekend, Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper was left furious after Harry Maguire wasn’t punished for what seemed to be a handball in the box early in the game, which Manchester United won 2-0.
However, data collected by an independent key match incidents panel, there have been just four incorrect interventions from match rounds 17 to 30, the period since the World Cup. The panel sits every week and is made up of three former players or coaches, one Premier League representative and a figure from referees’ body PGMOL.
READ MORE: Harry Maguire's 'stonewall' handball not punished by VAR and fans left perplexed
That works out to an average of one incorrect intervention every 37.5 games in the top-flight. In contrast, before the World Cup, there were six incorrect interventions, one every 24.3 matches.
The figures show missed interventions have fallen from 12 to seven while VAR errors for on-field offences are down from 18 to 12 since the World Cup. There have been 83 correct interventions this season to date.
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The numbers, seen by the PA news agency, are unlikely to ease the frustration of clubs that have fallen foul of dubious decisions, with pressure growing on PGMOL chief Howard Webb, who has apologised for incorrect VAR decisions.
Forest’s Cooper is the latest manager to be left seething by officials and VAR after the Maguire handball was overlooked by on-field ref Simon Hooper while VAR official Andy Madeley chose not to overrule.
Cooper fumed: “For VAR not to give it, they apologised last week and are going to have to apologise again, which means absolutely nothing. I don’t think it’s your headline why we lost the game, but I don’t think these errors should be happening.”
In a bid to improve decision-making, a new VAR manager will be in place this summer, replacing the outgoing Neil Swarbrick, supported by VAR coach Phil Bentham.
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