English Referees chief Howard Webb has noted the improvements in refereeing standards in the Premier League. Webb pointed out that the video assistant referee (VAR) has made just two errors so far this season.
Webb who returned to English football as referees chief in 2022 after eight years of retirement from active on-field officiating made this observation while featuring on the popular podcast Stick To Football hosted by Manchester United legend Gary Neville. The 53-year-old has since focused on seeing operations improved within the English top flight.
This appears to be yielding fruits as measures have now been put in place to hasten VAR reviews and make them more accurate. This has led to a greater threshold for overturning refereeing calls this season. Note that the VAR system has been a subject of criticism from fans and managers. However, Webb has acknowledged that there were indeed some mistakes made since the technology was introduced and it fell short of people’s expectations. He said, “I don’t think we managed expectations well in terms of VAR.” Nonetheless, he is convinced that the technology has made progress and is headed in the right direction.
He elaborated on the measures put in place to improve VAR this season. He said, “We have this independent panel which has got ex-players on it, and they judge each decision each week, and according to the panel, there has only been two VAR errors this season compared to 10 at the same time last year.
“We’ve been better at hitting the mark but that can change and we’re not going to get complacent, but it’s been better. For me, the biggest thing of all is that it’s been quicker. The average delay last season through VAR was 70 seconds per game and this year it’s 25 seconds.”
He went on to cite Bruno Fernandes’ red card in Manchester United’s loss to Tottenham as an instance of VAR error this season. Although the decision stood during the game, it was subsequently overturned by a panel after an appeal by United.
