Featured Image Credit: Premier League
Topics: Premier League, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Premier League, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea
All 20 Premier League teams have been ranked by who has benefited most and least from VAR since its introduction – and it makes for fascinating reading.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that those in England's top flight will hold a vote on a proposal to abolish the video assistant referee (VAR) from the start of next season.
It comes after a resolution was formally submitted to the Premier League by Wolverhampton Wanderers, who have triggered a vote for when representatives from all 20 clubs assemble for their yearly gathering on June 6.
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Wolves believe the decision to introduce VAR was “made in good faith and with the best interests of football and the Premier League at its heart” but they also point out its pitfalls.
In fact, they listed a host of negatives in their argument, including the impact on goal celebrations and the spontaneous passion that makes football special, as well as frustration and confusion inside stadiums.
Other points include disruption of the league's fast pace with lengthy checks and more added time, which cause matches to run excessively long.
You could argue that Wolves have every right to be frustrated. Over the five seasons of VAR, they have a net score of -17 when all decisions for and against are tallied up,
To calculate the net score, for example, Wolves have had 15 decisions for and 32 against.
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In total, they've had three VAR errors logged against them by the Independent Key Match Incidents Panel this season, including a late equaliser disallowed for offside against West Ham.
After that moment, manager Gary O'Neil decided to confront referee Tony Harrington, which resulted in a one-match touchline ban.
The next worst-affected club is Arsenal, according to ESPN, who sit on a net score of -7 since VAR was introduced, while Tottenham [-3] and West Ham [-5] are the only other two clubs to have a negative VAR scores.
You can see the table in full below:
As mentioned earlier, Premier League clubs will be asked to vote on the possible abolition of VAR for next season but the proposal looks "doomed to fail", according to Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett.
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"From numerous sources, it looks very unlikely that 13 other PL clubs will vote in favour," he said. "Majority of clubs seem to want change and VAR improvements, but think it would be a backward step to scrap it."