With the return of club football, the Premier League released a report detailing the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the ongoing 2022-23 Premier League season.
A five-person independent panel was set up to conduct a weekly review of the key match incidents (KMI) for all games, and it has been discovered that six of the VAR decisions were incorrect.
The panel noted that there have been about 48 scenarios in which the VAR was called into use, but only 42 of those calls were deemed correct.
One of the most notable ones was Gabriel Martinelli’s goal for Arsenal in their clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford in September, when referee Paul Tierney disallowed the opener after lead VAR official Lee Mason called him to review the play.
The independent panel argued that the goal should have stood because it was legal and within the confines of the game’s rules.
Furthermore, it was discovered that the VAR officials completely missed another six incidents when they should have stepped in to make a call.
However, the Premier League believes that with the appointment of former referee Howard Webb as the chief refereeing officer, the refereeing standards in the league will surely improve.
Webb, a former policeman turned referee, is the first person to referee the finals of both the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA World Cup in the same year (2010).
Given his experience with the use of the VAR in Major League Soccer in the United States of America as Manager of Video Assistant Referee Operations, Webb is expected to turn around the controversial nature of the refereeing decisions in the English top-flight league.
In the same vein, the Premier League has appointed veteran rugby league referee Phil Bentham as its new VAR coach.
Also, the Premier League, in its ploy to improve health conditions in the league, wants to take part in a temporary concussion substitution trial.
They have written to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to allow the introduction of the trials, and doctors in the league feel the use of temporary substitutes would bring positive benefits.
