Premier League clubs have decided to retain VAR

In the Premier League, video assistant refereeing, or VAR, is here to stay. Teams in the top division of England voted on Thursday on whether to keep using the technology or not.

Since VAR was implemented in the Premier League at the start of the 2019–20 season, it has been the subject of intense scrutiny. The previous season, VAR was much more scrutinized since referees used it in a number of controversial and frequently incorrect decisions.

In the wake of the resounding vote to maintain VAR, the Premier League decided to implement a number of technological modifications. Reducing delays will be one of the largest changes made to VAR in order to enhance the spectator experience. This can be mitigated by implementing semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) later in the year. To ascertain whether a player has strayed offside, SAOT rapidly tracks them while they are on the field.