UEFA want talks with Premier League bosses to help reduce growing VAR frustration

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UEFA are ready to hold talks with major European leagues to get a better alignment on VAR.

That will include the Premier League where there has been a major backlash from fans and clubs over video decisions because of delays and a string of controversies.

UEFA’s referee chief Roberto Rosetti said last month that VAR checks have become too “microscopic” and football has “forgotten the reason why VAR was introduced.”

English football is not the only league where VAR has become a source of frustration as Serie A has also been plagued by major issues. It has led to the Football Supporters’ Association even conducting a survey among fans on how to improve VAR and whether it should be scrapped.

But there are less high profile complaints in Champions League games while there is also a desire to be more consistent over interventions in domestic and European matches to ensure the standards remain the same.

The main complaints are over how long it takes on VAR checks and also the consistency over when they intervene.

That will be UEFA’s biggest target to try and ensure it runs smoothly across competitions because the Premier League does have high profile and respected officials such as Michael Oliver, Anthony Taylor and Jarred Gillett is a highly-respected VAR in European football.

UEFA want to have a familiar understanding when it comes to VAR interventions. There are weekly complaints in the Premier League over some VARs intervening despite English football championing the “referee’s call.”

Yet even Sky pundit Jamie Redknapp called it a “horrendous” decision for VAR not to give a penalty for Michael Keane’s challenge on Kai Havertz in Arsenal ’s win over Everton when the commentary said they took “three seconds” to check the on-field decision.

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Meanwhile, UEFA are also likely to explore following the Premier League in looking at the “Premflix model” when it comes to dreaming Champions League games direct to armchair fans.

The Premier League announced recently that they would be doing a trial run with a “direct to consumer” model in Singapore which would pave the way for them setting up their own service in the future.

Just weeks after announcing they had reached agreement with Real Madrid over ending the Super League plans which featured direct streaming, UEFA are now now likely to follow suit.

UEFA has also decided to keep country protection rules in the Champions League - even after some clubs pushed for changes.

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Some clubs wanted to scrap country protection in the league phase and also last 16 amid obvious fears that English clubs had six in the competition and would take over.

However, only two clubs - Arsenal and Liverpool - have made the quarter finals and that probably adds weight to the argument to keep protection.

A meeting of Uefa's Club Competitions Committee earlier this year reviewed the system and it will remain in place but could yet be reviewed further down the line.

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