Referees’ chief Howard Webb believes VAR standards have improved this season

PGMOL chief Howard Webb believes there has been an improvement in VAR implementation this season, with just two errors flagged compared to 10 at the same stage last term.

There has been plenty of debate, and numerous controversial incidents, since the technology was brought into English football’s top-flight at the start of 2019-20 season.

Webb implemented video technology in the United States’ Major League Soccer and in late 2022 became the Professional Game Match Officials Board’s first-ever chef refereeing officer.

The 2010 World Cup final referee has attempted to show officials in a different light and improve standards, which he believes have increased in the first seven rounds of the Premier League campaign.

“I don’t think we managed expectations well in terms of VAR,” Webb told the Stick to Football podcast in partnership with Sky Bet.

“We knew it was always going to be a situation where it was going to do well on those clear situations, the ones where you think, ‘That’s clearly wrong on first view’.

“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.

“I said to the guys, ‘Don’t ponder for too long, if you see a situation that jumps off the screen then get involved, but if you’re having to think about it too much then just say check complete because we’ll leave it with the referee on the field’. That’s why the term, ‘Referee’s call’ is useful.”

One clear error in the opening weeks of the season was the sending off of Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes in September’s 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham.

The 30-year-old’s straight red card for a challenge on James Maddison was later rescinded following a successful claim of wrongful dismissal.

Webb said: “We released the audio and you can hear the assistant, who had a good view of the incident, say that it was awful and a 100 per cent red for him.

“From his angle, it looks it because it looks like the studs have gone up but then there is an angle, a second replay from Sky Sports, and straight away I thought that would be an overturn and it wasn’t.

“I was frustrated that we didn’t step in to rectify because it was clearly wrong in my opinion as he slipped and tried to trip him, but it was the side of the foot, he didn’t drive the studs in.”