Advertisement

VAR Premier League vote date set as Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea set for crucial say

VAR rules Tottenham goal as offside during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 28, 2024 in London, England.
Premier League clubs are set to vote on the future of VAR next month -Credit:(Photo by Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)


Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur will be able to cast a vote at the Premier League's annual general meeting next month on whether Video Assistant Referee should be scrapped from next season.

It was revealed that Wolverhampton Wanderers had written to the Premier League on Wednesday and called for VAR to be ditched this summer and as a result, it will now be on the agenda when all 20 clubs meet at Harrogate for the off-season AGM on June 6.

As equal shareholders of the Premier League, each club is entitled to one vote and at least two-thirds of the clubs (14) must be in agreement for a rule change to be set in motion.

As the vote takes place after the completion of the 2023/24 Premier League season, the three relegated clubs - Sheffield United, Burnley and likely Luton Town - will have their shares transferred to the three newly promoted teams from the Championship, with Leicester City and Ipswich Town set to be joined by one of Leeds United, Southampton, West Bromwich Albion or Norwich City.

In the wake of VAR's uncertain future in the Premier League, Newcastle United forward Anthony Gordon called on the league's chief to either "get rid of it or get better" with technology after he was denied a first-half penalty in the Magpies' 3-2 defeat to Manchester United on Wednesday.

England international Gordon was caught on the Achilles by Sofyan Amrabat with his side 1-0 down but neither on-field referee Rob Jones nor VAR official Jarred Gillet decided to award a spot kick despite the huge rip in the forward's sock of where he had been caught by the United midfielder.

READ MORE: Chelsea ratings as Palmer and Nkunku shine but Reece James piles on pressure with silly red card

READ MORE: Guardiola exits Man City, Pochettino sacked by Chelsea – How Arsenal can dominate Premier League

Earlier this month, PGMOL chief Howard Webb said that referees could soon be mic'd to explain their VAR decisions in a bid to improve the VAR experience for match-going fans.

"It does need improving, doesn't it," said Webb on the Premier League's Match Officials Mic'd Up programme. "When you hear the clips on shows like this it makes sense what's happening. It all becomes apparent and actually you'll hear the referee, Andy Madley, having been to the screen saying, 'I’m going to speak to Lewis Dunk to explain why the penalty that he feels he should have isn't going to happen because he's fouled Wissa before that.' We're looking at ways to improve the in-stadium experience.

"One of the things you'll have seen maybe in FIFA tournaments, like the Women's World Cup, is announcements from the referee once they've been to the screen. So we're looking at that, we're keeping an open mind about whether that's something we could utilise in the Premier League."