Good news at last for Burnley as Championship clubs make welcome VAR call
One advantage of being back in the Championship next season is that Burnley won’t have to endure VAR.
That had been in some doubt, with proposals being put forward to introduce a version of the technology from the start of next season.
But it’s now emerged Championship clubs have voted to reject the plans.
Football Video Support (FVS), a variation of VAR which needs fewer resources and gives each coach two reviews per game, could have been brought in from August.
It comes after the Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) gave a presentation at the EFL's annual meeting last month.
According to the BBC, the EFL subsequently contacted the clubs to canvas feedback, but it was found there was no appetite for any version of VAR in the Championship.
It’s also claimed the idea of VAR in the Championship is “closed for the foreseeable future” and the idea is unlikely to be reviewed in a year’s time.
Goal line technology will continue to be used, however, and could even be extended into League One.
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Clarets boss Scott Parker has publicly spoke out against VAR on a number of occasions this season – not only for the decisions that have gone against his side, but also the wider impact on the game.
He said back in August: “It's going to become the most sterile game there is.
“We're only probably months or a year away from not celebrating goals.
"I stand on the touchline, you score a goal and there's a million things that go through your mind. Checklists, what happened three minutes before it, was that offside? Did he stand on his toe two minutes before we've gone through on goal? Is it offside? We need to get the computer out by the millimetre to check whether it is offside.
“Linesmen and referees really are slowly becoming redundant and the game's becoming re-reffed in every phase.
“I think we live in a world of perfection, don't we? Everyone wants perfection and social media brings that. I think we want perfection in a game of football, which I just don't agree with, but it is what it is.”
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