Premier League VAR call justified by dispute in World Cup Final

The Premier League are convinced they made the right call not to introduce VAR for the 2018-19 season because of the teething problems with the technology at the World Cup.

VAR generally worked well throughout the tournament but there was a controversial moment in the final yesterday when France were awarded a soft penalty for handball.

Argentine referee Nestor Pitana did not initially award a penalty but then changed his mind when he saw a replay, even though he had not made a clear and obvious error.

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The incident was an example of why Premier League clubs were reluctant to introduce the technology next season and instead voted to continue trials for another year.

FIFA were pleased with how VAR worked at the World Cup and there is an appetite among Premier League clubs for testing to be stepped up next season.

Clubs wanted to observe how VAR was used at the World Cup and will now keep a close on trials that will continue in the background of Premier League matches next season.

Premier League clubs are keen to ensure VAR works effectively before it is introduced and it is hoped the trials will help iron out problems with the technology.

There have been issues at the World Cup with how long it has taken to make decisions and in the final yesterday Croatia midfield Ivan Perisic was penalised for handball when replays showed the referee had not made a clear and obvious error. There have also been concerns about the lack of communication with spectators.

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The Premier League, therefore, is not expecting a clamour from clubs for the technology to now be introduced ahead of schedule.

After more trials next season, clubs will be presented with the findings of the testing and they will then vote on whether to introduce VAR for the 2019-20 season.

If the technology is working effectively, it is likely VAR will be introduced the season after next. A two-thirds majority of the 20 Premier League clubs would need to vote in favour of implementing the technology.

VAR will continue to be used in the FA and League Cups next season and the Premier League are want the technology to be trialled in scenarios where more than one game is taking place at one time.

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has been keeping a close eye on how VAR has been used at the World Cup and they will use examples from the tournament when referees meet up for training later this month.