Premier League VAR Rule Changes Introduced For 2020/2021 Season

Premier League VAR Rule Changes Introduced For 2020/2021 Season.

As the new Premier League season approaches we thought it was time for a refresher on the five key changes to VAR that we’ll be seeing in 2020/21

It may have caught some fans by surprise given how quickly it seems to have come around, but the new English football season will kick off at Wembley on Saturday when Arsenal face Liverpool in the Community Shield.

The fact that the match is coming less than a week on from the previous season’s Champions League final needs no explanation by now, but what does is perhaps the idea that there will be some new rules in place around VAR.

After the Premier League agreed that VAR would stay in the division at their annual general meeting earlier this month, it was decided that it would be run in line with FIFA protocol in 2020/21.

This means that the use of it will be slightly different in the Premier League from its debut last season, but how different?

Here are the five key things to look out for:

Perhaps the biggest and most welcome change will see referees encouraged to use the pitch-side monitors more often instead of relying on a voice from Stockley Park, something that we did start to see creeping in towards the end of last season.

Referee Chris Kavanagh was seen using the monitor when he decided to send off Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah against Leicester shortly after the Premier League’s restart, and the monitors will be used to allow referees to scrutinise red cards, goals and penalties more often.

Although the offside law won’t change, the decision to allow fans to see the process of how the VAR comes to a decision is set to be altered.

Last season fans were able to see lines being drawn onto the screen as the most marginal calls were dissected, but that is set to stop in the hope that it will result in less uproar around certain decisions.

The lines will still be drawn, and could potentially be broadcast later to back up a decision, but they are not set to be seen in real time.

TV coverage could make offsides less controversial