Neil Swarbrick, the Premier League’s head of VAR, is to retire at the end of the current campaign.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Neil Swarbrick, the Premier League’s head of video assistant refereeing (VAR), appears to be planning to retire at the end of the current campaign. This season has seen a number of contentious VAR rulings, most recently highlighted by Brentford’s equalizer against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. It is believed that the judgment was made in the past and is unrelated to the system’s more recent high-profile problems.
Despite Tomas Soucek appearing to handle the ball in the penalty area against West Ham that same weekend, Chelsea was not given a penalty. Hakim Ziyech was first given a red card in Sunday’s match between the Blues and Spurs, but referee Stuart Atwell later changed his mind after a VAR review.
Ivan Toney’s goal against the Gunners earlier this month was allowed to stand due to Lee Mason’s error, and as a result, the referee left his position with VAR by “mutual consent.” PGMOL chief Howard Webb issued an official apology to organizations like Arsenal as a result of some of the bad choices, and criticism of match officials continues every weekend.
The Athletic reports that Swarbrick will step down at the conclusion of the 2022–23 season, but his replacement has not yet been chosen.
After retiring from a lengthy playing career at the conclusion of the 2017–18 season, Swarbrick was chosen to lead VAR before it was put into use at the start of the 2019–20 season.
The goal of the VAR system throughout his tenure has been to enhance decision-making surrounding goals, penalty calls, direct red card events, and mistaken identity – yet PGMOL is still being criticized.
