Sheffield United miss chance to shape football's future ahead of big Premier League VAR vote

Sheffield United will not get the chance to potentially shape the future of football at a VAR vote this summer, The Star understands, after their relegation from the Premier League. Top-flight clubs will vote on a motion, tabled by Wolves, to scrap the controversial technology at the Premier League’s annual general meeting in early June, with Wolves claiming that VAR is "undermining the value of the Premier League brand.”

Wolves have submitted a resolution and the PA news agency understands that they are sending additional documentation to the Premier League next week. Gary O’Neil’s side would need the support of 13 other clubs for VAR to be scrapped - but United will not have a voice after returning to the Championship this season. The AGM will see the Blades’ Premier League share transferred to the newly-promoted clubs, who will instead have a say in the future of VAR.

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That means Ipswich Town will play a part in the technology’s future despite never having consistently used it, having bounced from League One into the top-flight from League One in consecutive seasons. A Premier League spokesperson confirmed to The Star today that United will not be represented in the vote, with the three clubs promoted from the Championship instead present at the meeting in Harrogate.

Wolves boss O’Neil was left fuming at VAR after United were awarded a late penalty against his side at Bramall Lane back in November, which Ollie Norwood smashed home to give the Blades their first win of the season. An independent panel later agreed unanimously that VAR should have overturned ref Robert Jones’ on-field decision, after Fabio Silva was adjudged to have fouled George Baldock.

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“After five seasons of VAR in the Premier League, it is time for a constructive and critical debate on its future,” a Wolves statement read. “Our position is that the price we are paying for a small increase in accuracy is at odds with the spirit of our game, and as a result we should remove it from the 2024-25 season onwards.”

The Premier League says it “fully supports” the continued use of VAR and efforts to improve it further. Clubs have already voted to introduce semi-automated offside technology in the top-flight from next season, which will speed up VAR decisions, while the league points to an increase in correct decisions from 82 per cent before VAR was introduced, to 96 per cent this current season.

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In The Star’s last big Blades survey, over 59 per cent of Unitedites agreed that the technology was “killing the game” and just under three per cent said they liked or supported VAR, with 29 per cent voting that they “didn’t mind it, we’ll all complain when a decision goes against us.”

Blades chief Chris Wilder is not a VAR fan, or at least the timescale for some decisions to be confirmed. "I've played, coached and managed and all through that time I'm a supporter, so I can imagine what you're thinking is what we're all going through - how long it takes,” he said.

"It wasn't brought in for this, it was brought in for Hand of God 86 [Maradona's handball against England] when a referee, two linesmen and a fourth official didn't see something everybody in the world saw. For me it's for that, not to the extent of how it is now with everything getting dissected and how long it's taking over every decision. That's how it is, and I don't think it's going away."