Suggestion of an additional measure to improve the accuracy of refereeing decisions during football matches.

Howard Webb
Chief Refereeing Officer
Professional Game Match Officials Limited

Dear Mr. Webb,

I am writing to suggest an additional measure to improve the accuracy of refereeing decisions during Premier League football matches. Since the 2022/23 season, Professional Game Match Officials Limited [1] has admitted more than 10 wrong decisions made by referees through VAR [2-3], which has led to controversy and frustration among coaches, players, and football fans. To address this issue, I propose to grant one challenge per match to each team for a VAR review request.

A video assistant referee (VAR) system is a good move to be included in the 2018/2019 edition of the Laws of the Game of FIFA [4] and 2019/20 Premier League season, in helping correct decisions to be made by the main referee.  According to the law, the final decision will always be taken by the on-field referee [5].  However, the existing problem is, not just the final decision, but also the consideration of VAR review.  The proposal of introducing one challenge per team per match may reduce human errors on VAR issue [6].

The challenge ideas are not uncommon in other sports. For example, tennis players are given opportunities to challenge a call for Hawk-Eye [7-9]. Moreover, coaches of the National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) get challenges in a game that will initiate Instant Replay reviews [10-11]. Rules and regulations can be added to the challenge as other sports.

I believe that the challenge would not only improve the accuracy of referee decisions, but also add an element of fair play to the game. I understand that implementing this system may require additional resources and training for referees and VAR officials, but I believe it is a vital measure to further strengthen the game integrity and maintain the trust of fans.

Thank you for your consideration of this proposal. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Pierre Chan

REFERENCES

• [1] Professional Game Match Officials Limited
• [2] 10 times PGMOL admitted wrong decisions as Arsenal debacle leads to VAR's axing. Mirror.co.uk 2023-02-13
• [3] Brighton receive third PGMOL apology of the season after failure to award penalty against Tottenham. talksport.com 2023-04-09
• [4] Video Assistant Referee (VAR), FIFA
• [5] VAR, Premier League, 2020-06-01
• [6] Referees body admit 'human error' in VAR process in Arsenal, Brighton games. Reuters 2023-02-13
• [7] Player Challenge, Wimbledon
• [8] How does Hawk-Eye work at Wimbledon 2022? radiotimes 2022-06-21
• [9] Welcome to US Open 101: a USOpen.org guide to how tennis works. US Open
• [10] What are the NFL challenge rules? How many each team gets per game, timeouts assessed, and more. For The Win 2022-02-13
• [11] RULE NO. 14 – Coaches Challenge, NBA Official

The letters are also sent to the following persons:

• Alison Brittain CBE, Chairman of the Premier League Board
• Richard Masters, Chief Executive and Director, Premier League Board
• Fatma SAMOURA, FIFA Secretary General
• Patrick NELSON, Chief Executive of the Irish FA
• Ian MAXWELL, Chief Executive of the Scottish FA
• Mark Bullingham, Chief Executive Officer, The FA
• Noel MOONEY, Chief Executive of the Welsh FA