Study: EPL referees alter decision 95% of times after VAR call
British Referee Paul Tierney sends off Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez (R) during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Leeds United at Old Trafford. Martin Rickett/PA Wire/dpa Premier League referees almost always overturn their original decision after a video assistant referee (VAR) intervention, a study by the University of Bradford has found. The study published on Wednesday said match officials changed their call in 95% of such cases.
It examined 1,520 matches from the past four Premier League seasons in which VAR recommended on-screen reviews 250 times. The analysis also found that external factors such as crowd size, the scoreline or the timing of the decision had no statistical influence on whether an incident was reviewed via video or the original call was overturned. It also found no significant difference between home and away teams.
The authors pointed out that the pitchside monitor's proximity to home fans could potentially influence decisions. As a possible solution, they suggested moving the monitor to a screened-off location, such as in the players' tunnel. However, the review process would still need to be broadcast to maintain transparency.