Deceitful pulls on Colby Bishop and rough challenges on Callum Lang are among the countless decisions which have gone unnoticed.
Shoddy refereeing has left Pompey reeling on several occasions this season. The Blues suffered a 3-0 defeat away at Blackburn recently, and this isn’t the only robbery Pompey have suffered over the past four weeks.
A penalty was given for a foul clearly outside the box against Watford, swinging the momentum and leading to another last-minute goal sinking Portsmouth. Now we have to ask the question, would VAR improve or destroy the EFL?
If you ever need a good pub conversation to set pulses racing, then look no further than virtual assistant refereeing. It’s football’s marmite, you either love it, or hate it.
Refereeing at Vicarage Road and Ewood Park has only reaffirmed the poor state of officiating in the EFL, with some Pompey fans on social media claiming VAR would solve things. If in place, points could have been brought back to Fratton Park in those cases.
Opinions around the system have fluctuated. A 2023 BBC report found 79.1 per cent of match goers rated their experience of VAR as poor or very poor. This contrasts hugely to 74.6 per cent of supporters favouring it back in 2017.
It was told to us all endlessly that the system would solve all our problems and there would never be a bad decision again. Major injustices have been overturned in the Premier League, but it’s far from perfect.
ESPN reported that in the 2023/24 season there were 31 VAR errors recorded by the Independent Key Match Incidents Panel. With the millions of pounds spent on it, the stat is a major failure – overshadowing all success stories.
For all its purported benefits, it can suck the life out of fan experience. Just ask Coventry supporters about their last minute ‘winner’ in last season’s FA Cup semi-final. This was so cruelly ripped from their grasp after a sea of jubilant celebrations.
Talk of VAR being introduced in the Championship has been rumbling on. It’s already used for play off finals. But the cost of this is currently unsustainable.
EFL clubs were charged over £9,000 during FA Cup fixtures in Premier League stadiums with VAR. For many of them, that would be detrimental.
But you need look no further than Pompey’s visits to Vicarage Road and Ewood Park to clearly see that EFL officials need support.
The EFL have even discussed the possibility of introducing “VAR lite”, with fewer cameras and not covering offsides. A challenge system similar to tennis and cricket, where coaches can make two appeals per match, has been mooted. This has been hugely successful in other sports.
This would be a feasible compromise to the Premier League’s version – maintaining the fan experience the EFL boasts while overturning obvious blunders.
Sky introduced its Plus channel this season, showing over 1000 EFL fixtures. Increased viewing figures only mounts pressure on the EFL to catch up to its competition.
Supporters shouldn’t be surprised to hear VAR being debated more in the future. A lite version could be more affordable, improve officiating, and maintain the iconic fan experience. In this guise, Pompey would certainly have fared better this season. Perhaps it’s time for change.
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