The Premier League is set to reject widening the scope of the video assistant referee next season after talks with the refereeing body Professional Game Match Officials. The final decision will go to clubs at their annual general meeting next month, but there is little appetite to overrule referees’ advice.
That advice is to leave the system alone. PGMO has warned that giving VAR the power to rule on corners could significantly increase the length of matches, add pressure on officials and risk alienating the league’s broadcast partners. The concern is not abstract: the top flight already plays a 38-match Premier League season in which added delays are closely watched.
The push to expand VAR gathered pace after February, when the International Football Association Board approved a rule change that would allow the video assistant referee to rule on the award of corners from next month. The change was made discretionary, meaning leagues and competitions must choose whether to adopt it. Referees will use the new corner-review powers at the World Cup after a request from Fifa, but the Premier League is not expected to follow. PGMO has advised against extending VAR’s reach, and clubs are broadly understood to be reluctant to go against that guidance.
Fifa’s backing for the change reflects a different fear. Pierluigi Collina, the chair of its referees committee, and president Gianni Infantino are understood to worry that an incorrect corner decision could have a decisive effect on a World Cup game, particularly in the knockout rounds. World Cup matches will also include three-minute hydration breaks in each half, making the competition a poor direct comparison with the Premier League’s tighter schedule.
The debate has been sharpened by Sunday’s incident at the London Stadium, where Chris Kavanagh disallowed Callum Wilson’s injury-time equaliser for West Ham against Arsenal. The decision, along with the free-kick against Pablo for making contact with goalkeeper David Raya, could affect the destination of the title and the final relegation place. West Ham intend to lodge a complaint, while PGMO is adamant that Kavanagh and Darren England made the right call and followed the correct protocols.
That episode has put fresh focus on corners and contact in the penalty area, especially with grappling at corners said to have been particularly pronounced in the Premier League this season. Howard Webb is expected to discuss the West Ham-Arsenal decision on Sky Sports’ Match Officials Mic’d Up on Tuesday, and IFAB is expected to take up the wider problem of grappling at corners after the World Cup. For now, though, the likely shape of next season is clearer: the league will keep VAR where it is, not stretch it further, and leave the corner question for another day.
