A study from
VAR was developed to help on-field referees judge potentially game-changing decisions correctly by reviewing video evidence in real time.
The technology was introduced in the
Manchester Metropolitan's research, published in the
Each participant answered 15 questions related to different issues with VAR in the EPL, which allowed researchers to identify the following recommendations to improve its use:
VAR should be used if goal-line technology fails - this would prevent simple errors such as the one seen in the Aston Villa versus Sheffield United game in
VAR teams should be expanded to include more than one professional referee - this would help to tackle fans' perceptions that subjectivity amongst referees is a problem that VAR has helped reduce, but not eradicate.
Big screens should be mandatory for every EPL club - this would help to keep the matchday crowd informed when a VAR decision is taking place.
The on-field referee should always review game-changing VAR decisions - this shows that fans prefer the on-field referee to take the final decision on potentially match-changing decisions such as issuing a red card or awarding a penalty kick.
'We found that all age groups were generally positive about VAR, but younger age groups were significantly more positive than their older counterparts. Our findings show the importance of fans' opinions to any changes the EPL may make to VAR, with a need to develop frameworks for making changes with fans as stakeholders in mind.'
A major finding of the study recommends that big screens become compulsory for all EPL clubs. The only clubs who do not currently have a big screen are
Researchers say mandatory screens would aid in-stadium fans in getting information during VAR checks, improving their matchday experience.
Hamsund added: 'Although the participants in our study agreed that screens should be mandatory it is important to consider that some fans of Liverpool or
'By contrast, other supporters of the same two teams may feel that their experience was worsened due to the lack of big screens during VAR reviews. It would certainly make sense for arguably the two biggest clubs in English football to do what they can to aid in-stadium fans in getting information during VAR checks.'
The study recommends that when developing the use of VAR, the EPL and football's world governing body
Researchers say that while organisations such as
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