Survey reveals major VAR change required - what it will mean for Brighton, Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal

Brighton twice received apologies from Professional Game Match Officials Limited’s boss Howard Webb after VAR howlers in the away fixtures at Crystal Palace and Tottenham. At Selhurst Park the officials somehow drew the offside lines in the wrong place, which denied a clear goal for Pervis Estupinan in the 1-1 draw against their old rivals.

But the match at Tottenham later in the season was a total farce. Numerous calls went against the Seagulls as they had a first half goal from Kaoru Mitoma ruled out, a penalty claim on Lewis Dunk was not checked and VAR then failed to award a penalty to Brighton after Mitoma was fouled in the penalty area – prompting another apology from Webb. It proved a vital moment in the season as the 2-1 loss at Tottenham ended their Champions League hopes. More transparency on how the decisions are made have long been called for and this week a survey found the majority of leagues around the world want conversations between referees and VARs played out live to broadcasters.

The Premier League was one of 41 leagues to take part in the survey by the World Leagues Forum, an umbrella body currently chaired by Premier League chief executive Richard Masters.

The leagues involved, including the Premier League, have not said which way they voted on this issue in the anonymised survey, but 25 of the 41 leagues were in favour of it. One respondent said: “(Having an) audio feed open for broadcasters between referee and VAR is a priority.”

Using the two-way audio feed live is currently not allowed under the laws of the game, which are set by the International Football Association Board. Last month, PGMOL’s chief Webb appeared on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football programme to talk through some incidents from the season where VAR had come into play, allowing audiences to hear for the first time the discussions between the referee and the VAR.

It is understood PGMOL is considering more regular insights into the discussions between referees and VARs next season as part of a move towards greater transparency.

The survey also found 30 of the 41 leagues supported final decisions following a VAR review being communicated verbally to fans in the stadium and television audiences, either by the referee or the fourth official.

The sport’s global governing body FIFA is currently trialling such a system in its competitions, with the first being the Club World Cup in Morocco earlier this year. Final decisions can already be communicated visually via big screens within venues.

More leagues favoured live broadcast of a referee’s interactions with coaches and players than were opposed to it – 19 compared to 17 – with five undecided.