Some of the Premier League’s biggest VAR mistakes are back in the spotlight as a European country might be the first to get rid of the technology.
Norway might be the first country to get rid of VAR after fans spoke out against it. Tom Collomosse from the Daily Mail shared that many teams in Norway’s top league, the Eliteserien, want to see VAR “gone” after using it since 2023. While Sweden’s top league, the Allsvenskan, decided not to use VAR in 2024, Norway could be the first to bring it in and then take it away.
Raymond Gabrielsen, chairman of Lillestrom Sports Club, told Norwegian TV2 that the club has a clear plan to work toward ending VAR. He said the board supports this and they are talking with other top clubs about taking concrete steps to get rid of it. Gabrielsen added, “We don’t agree with the idea of VAR itself. Plus, the system hasn’t worked as well as promised and hasn’t improved over time.”
Fans in the Premier League know how frustrating VAR can be, with many bad calls since it started in 2019/20. Here are four of the worst VAR mistakes in England during that time.
One recent blunder was when Erling Haaland’s goal against Manchester United was wrongly allowed. At first, the goal was ruled offside, but then VAR gave it because Haaland was onside. However, questions came up about Enzo Fernandez, who was in an offside position but didn’t touch the ball. VAR missed this, and the goal counted. ProRef later admitted this was a big mistake and said they told Manchester United about the error. United lost the game 1-0 to a 10-man City team, after another controversial VAR call that gave Phil Foden a red card.
Back in June 2020, Sheffield United played Aston Villa in a match remembered for a rare failure of goal-line technology. Villa’s goalie, Orjan Nyland, accidentally fell backwards with the ball over the line, but the technology missed it, and the referee didn’t see the goal. VAR wasn’t used because the goal-line tech usually works perfectly. Villa managed a 0-0 draw and just barely avoided relegation that season. Some think if Sheffield United had been awarded the goal, things might have turned out very differently for both clubs.
Liverpool fans probably want to forget the time in October 2023 when Luis Diaz scored a great goal against Spurs, but it was wrongly disallowed for offside. Replays showed Diaz was onside, but the VAR made a mistake and the goal didn’t stand. This happened after Liverpool had a player sent off following another VAR decision, and they lost the game 2-1. Manager Jurgen Klopp was upset, calling the decisions “crazy” and “unfair.”
Two months earlier, Wolves felt hard done by when VAR didn’t give them a clear penalty against Manchester United. In stoppage time, Wolves’ Sasa Kalajdzic was fouled in the box, but the referee missed it and VAR didn’t step in. Wolves’ manager Gary O’Neil was furious, and the referee’s boss later apologized. The officials involved were then not chosen for matches the next weekend, but that didn’t make Wolves feel any better.
Overall, many teams and fans are fed up with VAR mistakes, and Norway might be the first to follow fan wishes and scrap it altogether.