Premier League fans unhappy with VAR as semi-automated offside technology is delayed

In a survey of over 1,000 Premier League fans, 85.45% of supporters have slammed Video Assisted Referees (VAR) for how it has negatively impacted their match-day experiences.

Only 3.13% of fans responded to say that VAR had in fact improved their match day experience with 4.10% unsure and another 7.32% saying that VAR had not affected their enjoyment of games at all.

However, in a survey of Premier League fans, Grosvenor Sport found that the vast majority are deeply unhappy with VAR.

The biggest complaints from fans are based on the delays during games that kill match day atmosphere (38.28%), goals being disallowed during celebrations (31.15%), inconsistent decisions (30.76%) and decisions that led to unfair results (30.37%).

Meanwhile, Liverpool fans are all about the atmosphere with 50% saying the most negative impact of VAR is the delays it causes that kill the buzz inside Premier League stadiums.

The acknowledgement of supporters' discontent follows news that the Premier League have delayed the introduction of semi-automated offside technology until the winter.

Clubs were reportedly told it would be introduced in October or November, but now a timeline of January, or possibly even February is on the cards. All 20 Premier League clubs voted in April to introduce semi-automated offsides for the 2024–25 season.

Explaining the introduction, a statement from the Premier League previously read: "Computer vision cameras powered by Genius Sports will be installed in every Premier League stadium. These cameras around the ground will track the ball as well as thousands of data points for each player and the ball."

"When a match-defining moment occurs, such as a penalty, a goal or a red card, the technology will track to see if any attacking player involved in the build-up to the incident was offside. If a player receives a ball in an offside position, the technology will send an alert to the officials in the VAR Hub.

They will check that the point of contact with the ball and automated offside line have been correctly recorded. The VAR will then inform the on-field officials if an offside has been recorded."