Everton’s stance on now voting to scrap VAR after receiving six-page document

Premier League clubs will vote on June 6 whether to get rid of Video Assistant Referee technology for the 2024/25 season.

Everton remain undecided on their stance on VAR ahead of the annual Premier League meeting next month amid questions over the technology’s place in the top flight.

The club have until June 6 to make their final decision after Wolves submitted a six-page document calling for drastic change to VAR. The club feel VAR is damaging the Premier League brand, as well as ruining the spirit of the game, among other notable downfalls, as the Molineux outfit seek its abolition ahead of the 2024/25 season.

VAR was first introduced in England in 2019 to increase the accuracy and efficiency of referees. However, as it concluded a fourth season in use, growing scrutiny has led to its potential abandonment next term.

Nevertheless, for any motion to be passed, the vote in June’s AGM meeting will require a two-thirds majority vote in Wolves’ favour. While clubs such as Newcastle, Crystal Palace, West Ham, and a majority of the ‘big six’ have put their trust into keeping VAR, Everton are still mulling over their final decision, as reported exclusively to GIVEMESPORT by journalist Ben Jacobs.

How VAR has affected Everton this season

The Toffees benefited from VAR’s use in 2023/24

According to an independent panel, Everton would have finished with three fewer points this season had VAR not been in action, with a table without VAR for the 2023/24 campaign revealing that they were one of the biggest beneficiaries of the technology.

Not using VAR would have seen the Toffees finish in 16th place with the actual incumbents of that position, Brentford, taking their spot at 15th. No club would have lost more points from not having VAR this season – Nottingham Forest and Fulham were also tied on being three points worse off.

Overall, however, VAR had minimal impact on the Premier League table with the top four and bottom three all remaining the same.

Sean Dyche’s stance on VAR

The Everton boss hopes Everton vote in favour of keeping it

While most Premier League managers are against VAR, Sean Dyche has taken a different approach to the ongoing criticism of the technology. Talking to the BBC, he made it clear that, while he can see the system’s downfalls, VAR should be kept amid its uncertain future. The Everton manager said:

“From my point of view, I think it’s a necessary part of the business side of football. I totally understand the fan-engagement side, and it’s tricky, but it’s such a big business now, you need as many of these details to be as correct as possible.

“The use of it is obviously in question, I understand that. The offside for me is a given, I can’t really work out this idea of tolerance. At the end of the day, if you’re offside, you’re offside. That’s what it’s there for. If you’re offside by a toe, you’re still offside. I’d like to know how they do that in the 100m sprint, ‘no sorry, we’ll give it to the second one, even though they didn’t quite win it,’ so that one’s clear to me. I think that’s a good side of VAR personally. The challenge is to bring it to a smoother operation.”