FSA VAR SURVEY RESULTS
Wolves Fans’ Parliament presented a motion at the Football Supporters Association (FSA) AGM held in November 2021, the motion proposed by Fans’ Parliament and seconded by Burnley FC Supporters’ groups concerned VAR and reads:
‘’Conference notes a range of concerns about the operation of VAR at Premier League and cup games in English Football, particularly the negative effect on the experience of supporters’ present at the games.
It therefore resolves to establish a working group with terms of reference to identify specific actions and changes to improve the experience of match-going supporters in this regard, following consultation, through the Premier League network group, with FSA affiliates, associates, and individual members. The target date to deliver this action plan is no later than easter 2021’’
One of the actions agreed by the working group was to carry out an extensive survey of supporters across the country, the results of this survey has now been released through the FSA. The FSA press release is detailed in full below:
Survey: Fans say they will attend fewer games because of VAR
More than four out of ten fans say they will attend fewer games in future due to the effect VAR is having on the game, according to a survey of more than 33,000 fans by the Football Supporters’ Association.
In the largest consultation of its kind on VAR, supporters were almost unanimous in their opinion on video technology – 95% of those who had experienced VAR in-stadium and 94% who had watched matches on TV said that VAR had made watching football less enjoyable.
Chief among the concerns of supporters was the removal of the spontaneous joy of goal celebrations (95%), and the impact of delays; 86% of TV viewers and 91% of match-goers stated that VAR decisions are generally not resolved in a reasonable amount of time.
More than a third of those respondents (39%) who had been Premier League season ticket holders before COVID-19 hit said they were likely to attend fewer games in future as a result of the impact that VAR was having on the game. 44% of all regular matchgoers said they would be attending less due to VAR.
Fans were polled on their thoughts on various aspects of the VAR experience, both in-stadium and on TV. Around half of those who responded had experienced VAR in-stadium (55%).
The results of the survey will be provided to the Premier League who are undergoing a similar consultation of players and managers to make improvements to the technology from next season.
FSA vice-chair Tom Greatrex said: “There is a clear feeling among fans that VAR has ruined the spontaneity of goal celebrations and taken away a big part of our most enjoyable matchday moments.
“With four in ten fans saying that VAR is likely to lead them to attend fewer matches in the future we hope that PGMOL and the Premier League will hear the fans’ voice and take urgent steps to improve a system that isn’t delivering clear and understandable decisions in stadiums.”
Fans are not completely against technology, however; 97% of those polled were in favour of goal line technology, which provides near-instant results.
Taking all things into consideration, only 26% said they supported the use of VAR.
Other key stats from the survey include:
Just over three quarters of fans (77%) were of the opinion that referees needed to take the time to more clearly explain VAR decisions to those in the stadium
A similar proportion (78%) agreed that other sports are better suited to the use of video referees/umpires than football is.
Two thirds of fans (63%) are not in favour of using VAR in competitions where it won’t be used in every game, such as in the FA Cup or EFL Cup in lower league grounds.
Only 13% of fans believe that VAR has improved the overall accuracy of refereeing decisions
FSA National Council member Steve Moulds said: “One of the main concerns raised by supporters is that VAR decisions are taking too long, and even then, they aren’t always clearly communicated to those fans in the stadium when they are made.
“Despite being part of our game for several years, there is still great confusion over exactly how VAR operates, and that is having a detrimental impact on the enjoyment of match-going fans, as well as those watching on TV.
“We’d like to see much better communication and explanation from officials on VAR decisions, which will go some way to improving supporter confidence in the system.”
END
As a result of this survey the working group will now be issuing proposals for consideration by the FSA National Council.
Wolves Fans Parliament remain engaged as members of the working group and will continue to represent supporters’ views at a national level.
A total of 33,243 fans responded to the survey, which ran online from 29th March to 12th April.
Season ticket holders are defined as those people who said they attended “more than 20/all home games” in a typical season, pre-COVID.
Regular matchgoers are defined as those people who said they attended at least 6 home games in a typical season, pre-COVID.
