Premier League to introduce VAR for start of 2019/20 season

The Premier League's 20 clubs came to an agreement in principle at a Shareholders' Meeting today

Tom Kershaw
Thursday 15 November 2018 15:28 GMT
Comments
What is football's VAR system and how does it work?

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Premier League will introduce VAR (Video Assistant Referees) for the start of the 2019/20 season after the league's 20 clubs came to an agreement in principle at a Shareholders' Meeting today.

Video refereeing has already been introduced in the likes of La Liga and has been trialled in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup this season as officials attempt to develop the best method of reviewing decisions.

The vote will now be subjected to approval from football lawmakers.

In a statement on their official website, the Premier League stated: "Premier League clubs have agreed in principle to introduce Video Assistant Referees (VAR) to the competition in the 2019/20 season.

"At a Shareholders’ Meeting today, clubs were provided with an update on the non-live VAR trials being undertaken by the League and Professional Game Match Officials (PGMOL) this season.

"Key learnings from VAR's use in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, and other leagues across the world, were discussed in detail.

"The Premier League’s non-live testing programme will remain in place for the rest of this season, with a continued emphasis on those Saturday afternoons which have several matches being played concurrently, and developing a clear protocol for communicating VAR decisions to fans.

"The League will now formally make a request to the International Football Association Board and FIFA to use VAR next season."

The decision comes after Southampton's controversial draw with Watford last weekend when Saints striker Charlie Austin insisted on VAR's introduction after his goal was incorrectly disallowed.

Premier League clubs had voted unanimously against bringing in VAR last season as they wanted another campaign to test the system further and ascertain what would be the most efficient and fan-friendly way to implement it.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in