FSA survey says more than 75% of fans do not support VAR in Premier League

[p]The survey was conducted ‌online between February 26 and March 23 and saw almost ‌8,000 fans of top-flight clubs participate, the Football ‌Supporters’ Association (FSA) said.[/p][p]The results showed that 75.7% did not support ‌the use of VAR in football, with 91.7% ‌saying VAR had removed the spontaneous joy of goal celebrations.[/p][p][b]“These findings back up the FSA’s previous survey in 2021, where ‌fans expressed misgivings about the introduction ⁠of VAR,"[/b] FSA’s Premier ‌League network manager Thomas Concannon said.[/p][p]The FSA had shared the ​survey results with the Premier League and referees' body PGMOL and looked forward to discussing ​the findings, he added.[/p][embed guid="f157e45b-8c46-481b-8925-6cc9b0e75384" url="https://x.com/henrywinter/status/2038390999475499163" social-type="twitter" /][p]In response, the Premier League said VAR had led to more accurate outcomes while remaining ⁠less disruptive than ​in other European competitions.[/p][p][b]"In recent seasons, there have been around 100 correct VAR overturns per season – instances where goals would otherwise have been incorrectly awarded or disallowed, ‌or red cards or penalties missed or wrongly given,"[/b] a Premier League spokesperson said in a statement.[/p][p]"The league applies a high threshold for VAR intervention, with the referee’s call taking precedence. As a result, VAR is less intrusive in the Premier League than in other European leagues, including the Champions League, where VAR intervenes almost twice as often."[/p][p]It added that refining ‌the use of VAR remained a key focus for ​both the league and PGMOL, and that it ‌would continue to engage with stakeholders as part of its efforts to improvement the system.[/p][p][b]"As part of ongoing dialogue with supporters, Premier League research indicates fans are largely in favour of keeping VAR, ⁠but improving the way ⁠it is used,” ‌[/b]it said.[/p]