Plans underway to improve VAR in Premier League

January 9, 2018 French refeere Amaury Delerue (front) takes part in a presentation of video assisted refereeing (VAR) before the French League Cup football match between Nice and Monaco at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, southern France. AFP

Referee chiefs are working on an action plan to improve the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the Premier League and any changes to the system will be passed on to match officials ahead of the new season, the Times reported on Friday.

VAR was brought into the league last season, but it is unpopular with many English top-flight managers following a number of contentious calls, with growing concern about the time to make decisions and the precision with which offsides are judged.

Fans also feel it goes far beyond its original remit — to review the most glaring mistakes.

The VAR action plan, which follows a survey of managers, captains and sporting directors, will focus on two issues - improving consistency of decision-making on subjective calls and interpretation of marginal offsides, the Times said.

"The purpose is to identify improvements to the VAR system and form a common understanding of where a VAR interpretation is expected and how changes can be made to increase consistency," clubs were told at a Premier League shareholders meeting.

"The results will inform the coaching and training of match officials during the close season and changes will take effect in season 2021-2022.

"The PGMOL (will) present an action plan at the next shareholders' meeting outlining changes and improvements for next season and beyond," the newspaper said, referring to the Professional Game Match Officials Limited.

The 2021-22 Premier League season will begin on Aug. 14 and end on May 22.