VAR ‘here to stay’ but may be tweaked next season
The Premier League’s new chief executive says video assistant refereeing is “here to stay”, but may be changed next season to combat controversies surrounding socalled armpit offsides.
Richard Masters suggested football’s legislators – who meet soon to discuss global rules – should allow more “tolerance” over marginal calls. A row erupted in November after a Roberto Firmino goal was denied after officials analysed footage showing a line across his armpit.
The technology has been the most divisive issue this season, with more than two-thirds of Premier League supporters believing it has made the game less enjoyable, a Yougov poll found yesterday.
Masters, however, cited evidence showing only 15 per cent of the 1,396 fans surveyed wanted the system to be scrapped, as he expressed the league’s commitment to it. “I think it’s here to stay and certainly it’s going to be with us next season,” he said.
The 53-year-old, an internal candidate who landed the job following a long and protracted search for Richard Scudamore’s successor, said he was in “constant dialogue” with the International Football Association Board, which will discuss potential improvements at a meeting in Belfast on Feb 29.
“Whether you want offsides that are precise, or whether you want to build in a bit of tolerance,” he said. “We are in constant dialogue with Ifab about it – and about the way the Premier League does it and what we can learn from others.”
Detailing his vision as leader of the world’s most lucrative domestic competition, Masters said his priority was to maintain its vibrancy. “If you haven’t got that then nothing else flows from there,” he added.
He spoke of the league becoming “a force for social good”, but, during questions at the league’s new headquarters in Paddington, west London, he defied calls for a ban on gambling advertising on shirts.
Half of the clubs carry betting brands as shirt sponsors. “It’s up to our clubs whether they want to have their own gambling relationships, all of them do, a number of them are on the shirt front,” he said.
He was equally guarded on the potential Saudi-backed takeover at Newcastle, refusing to comment, but defending the rigour of the league’s owners and directors test. He was blistering in his criticism, however, of the attack on the family home of Ed Woodward, the Manchester United chief executive.
“A line was crossed and the fans should be denounced,” he said.