Dan Carter

Thu 5 October 2023 22:10, UK

Sean Dyche has admitted that he remains a fan of VAR in football, but the Everton boss understands the frustrations of supporters over recent decisions.

The debate over whether or not the added technology is helping officials come to decisions has been stepped up again following Liverpool’s disallowed goal against Tottenham which was wrongfully ruled out, with the audio released from the incident released to much criticism from fans.

Some have called for the technology to be removed but Dyche has openly admitted that he believes it is a crucial asset in the modern game, given the huge impact wrong decisions can have on the business side of the game.

Speaking ahead of the Toffees clash with Bournemouth [Sky Sports, 5 October] he said: “I’m a fan of it in the decision-making side of things because I think that where the game is at in the business side of the spectacle, it would be unfair for some decisions to be given against teams if it cost them the ultimate price of possibly getting relegated.

“The other side of me as a football fan is obviously I’m aware it slows the game down, makes it feel different and I think it’s a fine line to get it right at the minute.

“We’ve seen it with ourselves, a kind of nothing incident on a keeper lead to a goal of ours being disallowed, but then I was down at [Nottingham] Forest against Brentford and the keeper follows through on Wissa, stays on his feet and gets nothing and it’s clearly a penalty and possibly a sending off.

“Those are the things I think we’re all a bit of lost in it but, overall I still think I’m a fan of it, from the business point of view, I understand from a fan’s point of view.”

A fan

Everton fans are put in an interesting position given the latest VAR debate as although they likely are as aggrieved by the poor officiating as any English football fan, it does make it a bit more forgiving when that dreadful decision comes against your local rival.

We saw only a few years ago, Aston Villa arguably stayed up and Sheffield United were relegated following a goal line technology error at Villa Park and as Dyche says, the introduction of VAR intended to prevent teams from suffering because of refereeing errors.

Given the Toffees’ recent struggles, had they had a decision go against them like Liverpool’s last week in either of their last two seasons, it could have been the difference between them playing in the Premier League or the Championship currently.

Despite this, it is refreshing to see Dyche be as level-headed as he has been about the technology, rather than following some of his other counterparts’ outbursts about potential replays or scrapping the entire system. Whether there is VAR in matches or not, the standard of officiating in English football has not been good enough.

In other Everton news, the Toffees’ new ground looks set to host some games in Euro 2028