In an effort to address myriad controversial decisions since it was first implemented in the 2019-20 season, the Premier League is making a radical change to its Video Assistant Referee system ahead of this week’s start to the 2024-25 season.
As a part of this drive, the Premier League has announced that it will open a new account on X, formerly Twitter, that will deliver “near-live” explanations of decisions reached by the referees during matches to try and give fans more immediate insight into the decisions reached by the VAR team.
“In the absence of live VAR-audio being transmitted, as it is not allowed in football, the Premier League Match Centre will be able to retransmit on social media near-live information from the VAR Hub during a game,” the Premier League said.
The new initiative is designed to address ongoing concerns about the clarity and consistency of VAR decisions, offering fans and viewers a better understanding of the decision-making process. The reason is that the Premier League is very passionate about trying to get more of a grip on its overall fan/viewer experience and about reducing controversy associated with certain refereeing decisions.
