Over 75% of fans do not support VAR in Premier League, says FSA survey

More than 75% of Premier League fans do not support the continued use of Video Assistant Referees (VAR), a Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) survey showed.

The survey was conducted online between February 26 and March 23 and saw almost 8,000 fans of top-flight clubs participate, the FSA said. The results showed that 75.7% did not support the use of VAR in football, with 91.7% saying VAR had removed the spontaneous joy of goal celebrations.

“These findings back up the FSA’s previous survey in 2021, where fans expressed misgivings about the introduction of VAR,“ FSA’s Premier League network manager Thomas Concannon said.

“We have shared the survey results with the Premier League and PGMO (Professional Game Match Officials Limited), and look forward to discussing its findings with them.”

Reuters has requested comment from the Premier League. Premier League teams voted in favour of keeping VAR in June 2024 despite a considerable amount of criticism about the technology-aided officiating system.

“While VAR produces more accurate decision making, it was agreed that improvements should be made for the benefit of the game and supporters,” the league said in a statement at the time.