VAR

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

The Jesus one didn't make it more interesting though that's my point, it was in the last minute of the game and City were already 3-1 up in their game, it had absolutely no effect on anything whatsoever - nobody was sat there thinking West Ham were going to score another 3 goals in the next 90 seconds so the idea that it was 'blatant corruption' just doesn't stand up.

I agree with the general point, I think some clubs get more beneficial decisions than others, but it's very easy as fans to see things purely from our own perspective and ignore the thigs that don't fit with what we want to believe. I have no idea to what extent decisions in our games would be seen to have 'evened themselves out' if analysed by a neutral observer but I would bet a lot of money that it would be a lot closer than people would have you believe on here. That's not a criticism and obviously not specific to us, all fans are going to focus more on perceived injustices against them and largely ignore borderline decisions which go their way.

Fans of all clubs think there is a conspiracy against them when it comes to VAR. You only have to listen to the RS fans who, when VAR rules against them go on about a conspiracy by the premier league and the referees doing everything in their power to make it as difficult as possible for them to win the league.

 

[Shibbywiggles]

Fans of all clubs think there is a conspiracy against them when it comes to VAR. You only have to listen to the RS fans who, when VAR rules against them go on about a conspiracy by the premier league and the referees doing everything in their power to make it as difficult as possible for them to win the league.

I work with a Man City fan who thinks their decisions against have been so bad for the last few seasons there has to be a conspiracy to stop them winning because they can’t win the cases against them legally

A mid 40s Man City fan feeling hard done by in 2026

 

[scratchnsurf]

So many conspiracy theories, so little time.

The fundamental problem is the standard of the officiating. Until that improves there'll be many more poor and/or inconsistent decisions. What VAR has done is highlight how poor that standard is overall and simultaneously taken away the best part of the game - the no holds barred celebrating of a goal.

 

[bluenorthwarrior]

Exactly this. There is no big conspiracy or brown envelopes. But there is a consistent bias to the top clubs

Absolutely, I think it is a blend of both conscious and unconscious bias.

Unconscious due to the factors in Amw79's post, conscious due to the ambition to referee the 'big games'. I remember reading a couple fo years ago about how the top referees don't want to upset the 'top' clubs as it means they won't be given the games involving those clubs.

Upset one of the 14, no one cares. Upset Man Utd, Arsenal, RS etc. then you will get Fulham v Sunderland rather than Arsenal v City next weekend.

 

[Amw79]

The fundamental problem is the standard of the officiating. Until that improves there'll be many more poor and/or inconsistent decisions. What VAR has done is highlight how poor that standard is overall and simultaneously taken away the best part of the game - the no holds barred celebrating of a goal.

Yeah, this. VAR has exposed that a hell of a lot of decisions are subjective, and even the “matter of fact” ones (offside, ball out of play), are sometimes so close as to be a 50/50 call, hence you still get a load of wrong and/or disputed calls every week.

It doesn’t solve the problem it was intended to, and creates a worse one, as you point out - a goal isn’t ‘properly’ celebrated anymore. Bin it. Completely.

 

[summerisle]

 

[the golden visionary]

This is like discovering water is wet

 

[Bez2k2k]

West Ham.

Liverpool

City

As far as I am concerned they where all penalties.

 

[Bluewolf]

There is no conspiracy specifically against Everton. However, there is less impact on a referee or VAR if they get our decisions wrong, and there is still an (un)conscious bias towards some teams over others. I remember the Derby a couple of years ago when Ashley Young was sent off for 2 yellow cards, and then Konate committed 2 similar offences and was given a warning. That's not a conspiracy, but it is weak refereeing because there is little to no consequence for not applying the rules consistently.

Yeah?

So why was there a video of all the refs singing "you'll never walk alone" during their end of year party then?

And the lead singer of the band says "i know this one is near and dear to all of your hearts" before they start singing it and their all giving it proper socks.

And the ref on the stage giving it the biggest go just so happens to be in charge of the pgmol now.

Also the video has been copyright striked from YouTube by uefa. No conspiracy here though...

 

[Swagger]

Out of interest what did people think of the decision to rule out the West Ham equaliser against Arsenal?

 

[pfim]

Out of interest what did people think of the decision to rule out the West Ham equaliser against Arsenal?

Without comparing it to anything else, it’s a clear foul, the goal doesn’t happen without the foul, and it’s what VAR is designed for.

 

[Swagger]

Without comparing it to anything else, it’s a clear foul, the goal doesn’t happen without the foul, and it’s what VAR is designed for.

I agree 100%. I thought all the other grappling and holding weren't enough to warrant a foul either. Put ut this way, it was all far less than the assault by Silva on Rohl which wasn't deemed a foul so in reality they couldn't give any of those as penalties for West Ham given the aforementioned precedent set.

 

[Swagger]

I went on a Man City forum for a laugh...
A lot of their fans mentioned how the league/VAR is fixed e.g., a few snippets below...

- Claimed Richarlison was offside when Rodri was doing the YMCA at Goodison Park...yep let's just make up stuff to cover up the worst handball decision in the history of the Premier League.

- Barry was offside...do they not understand the offside rule!? I may not agree with it but the rule is clear and the Barry goal was unequivocally onside.

- Keane should have been sent off...for winning the ball? I appreciate it's a non contact sport these days but even in today's game that's never, ever a red card.

- Complaining about Arsenal players surrounding the referee (Silva, Pep sprinting to the referee trying to get Keane sent off spring to mind) and diving (Cherki acting as though he had been shot from Dewsbury-Hall moving around him).

- They also had selective amnesia when it came to mentioning Silva wrestling Royl to the ground for a stonewall penalty.

Is there a less intelligent and more biased fanbase out there?

It's funny and satisfying given the above that we effectively cost them the league this season. Keep shushing Doku...well done for drawing. Probably fitting as we handed them the league title when we got a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford.

 

[Swagger]

I went on a Man City forum for a laugh...
A lot of their fans mentioned how the league/VAR is against them e.g., a few snippets below...

- Claimed Richarlison was offside when Rodri was doing the YMCA at Goodison Park...yep let's just make up stuff to cover up the worst handball decision in the history of the Premier League.

- Barry was offside...do they not understand the offside rule!? I may not agree with it but the rule is clear and the Barry goal was unequivocally onside.

- Keane should have been sent off...for winning the ball? I appreciate it's a non contact sport these days but even in today's game that's never, ever a red card.

- Complaining about Arsenal players surrounding the referee (Silva, Pep sprinting to the referee trying to get Keane sent off spring to mind) and diving (Cherki acting as though he had been shot from Dewsbury-Hall moving around him).

- They also had selective amnesia when it came to mentioning Silva wrestling Royl to the ground for a stonewall penalty.

Is there a less intelligent and more biased fanbase out there?

It's funny and satisfying given the above that we effectively cost them the league this season. Keep shushing Doku...well done for drawing. Probably fitting as we handed them the league title when we got a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford.

 

[TheBigIguana]

Out of interest what did people think of the decision to rule out the West Ham equaliser against Arsenal?

In isolation it's a foul. In context of what this PL season has looked like I'm not really sure it is a foul. In context of how VAR usually operates I'm not sure it should have been overturned to a foul. In the context of what Arsenal specifically have been allowed to get away with on their attacking set pieces over the course of this season it's a travesty that the title is probably being swung in their favor on that decision.

But ultimately.... it's a foul based on how the game is supposed to operate. I just wish the PL was run in a way that allowed the game to operate how it is supposed to more often. I know the referees are heinous and that's a big part of it. The players and the clubs conduct themselves in horribly unsporting fashion so often that I'm also just not sure what referees are even meant to do. The lack of respect for the refs, for opponents and for the game itself is appalling.