Premier League reject new VAR strategy in bid to 'protect referees': report

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - MARCH 04: The screen showing the VAR offside check during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Chelsea at Villa Park on March 04, 2026 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images).

The Premier League is set to reject increased powers for Video Assistant Referees for next season, following advice from match officials.

Refereeing body Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) has urged the league to turn down the opportunity to implement increased VAR use, warning that it could drastically increase the length of matches.

However, some changes to VAR will be implemented next season that the league is unable to reject.

VAR will intervene on second yellow cards from next season, but not corners

The Premier League is set to reject VAR intervention over the awarding of corners (Image credit: Getty Images)

Following changes approved by the International Football Association Board (Ifab) in February, VAR will be permitted to intervene on the awarding of corners from next season, but the new law is not mandatory, leaving leagues in a position to decide for themselves whether or not they want to implement the change.

This will be in use at this summer's World Cup, with FIFA keen to widen the scope of VAR's powers.

From next season VAR will be able to intervene for second yellow cards (Image credit: Getty Images)

Both FIFA boss Gianni Infantino and chair of its referees committee, Pierluigi Collina believe that an incorrect corner decision could have a big impact on a World Cup match, especially once the tournament progresses beyond the group stages.

However, PGMO are less concerned about the impact an incorrect corner decision could have over the course of a 38-game season.

Instead, they have urged the Premier League not to accept the proposed new laws, with fears over significantly increased match times and added pressure on match officials, according to a report in the Guardian.

The report goes on to state that the league's clubs are broadly in agreement with PGMO's position and that there is no real appetite to bring in VAR use to decide on the awarding of corners.

Despite this, there will be some increased VAR use in the Premier League from next season, with Ifab making other changes mandatory.

Until now VAR was only able to intervene on straight red cards (Image credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images)

VAR will be able to intervene to downgrade a second yellow card should it feel one was given in error. Second yellows can also be awarded by the VAR, should they feel that a challenge is worthy of one.

Until now, VAR was only able to get involved on decisions relating to direct red cards.

It is believed that prohibiting the use of VAR to rule over corner kicks in the Premier League, therefore avoiding further delays and over-officiating, will help to protect referees from increased fan scrutiny.