St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson remains unconvinced that VAR is improving football, despite a positive independent assessment for Scotland’s match officials.

An independent review panel (IRP) has deemed that just three of the first 407 VAR checks this season produced the wrong outcome.

It is understood that the panel of former players, coaches and managers gave match officials a higher accuracy rating for major decisions than the Scottish Football Association referees department itself.

St Mirren were on the end of one of those perceived mistakes for a so-called double-hit penalty by Aberdeen’s Bojan Miovski – and Dundee the other two – but Robinson believes it is supporters who are being short-changed by how the technology is being used.

The former Motherwell boss said: “It is not making football better for me and I would imagine the vast majority of fans.

“We have to remember football is about fans. Remember Covid, football wasn’t the same game. Fans should be asked ‘is it making it better?’ And from the fans I know and speak to, it isn’t. People pay a fortune to watch football and they should be asked.

“The authorities are trying to make things better but it needs to happen sooner rather than later because it is no consolation to us or any other team that has happened to. It has happened the right way for us as well but at least they are looking at it.”

Robinson believes improving communication is key to the success of VAR.

“Communication between the fourth official and managers has improved massively,” he said. “They do tell you what is going on when you have three or four checks at the same time.

“I think they should communicate with the fans. I wouldn’t have as many voices involved in it, it adds to the confusion.

“But the biggest thing for me, the referee should be called over to make the decision not influenced or told what somebody else thinks. He should still referee the game.

“He should be brought over to look at the incident – not, ‘I believe this is a red card, can you come and see it again’? And if he still makes the same decision, so be it.”

Miovski’s spot-kick equaliser in the 10th minute of stoppage-time in Paisley on August 27 prevented St Mirren going top of the cinch Premiership.

There was a VAR check after Saints goalkeeper Zach Hemming claimed the Aberdeen striker had touched the ball twice after slipping, but the goal was given without referee John Beaton being asked to review the footage.

The panel’s verdict was handed down to the 12 Premiership clubs during a meeting with the referees department on Thursday.

Audio of conversations between match officials and the VAR control room was relayed to the club representatives and explanations were given over how some key match incidents were dealt with.

The IRP was set up by the governing body ahead of the start of the season. Three people are called up from a pool of former players, managers and coaches for each review meeting and are guided by experts on the Laws of the Game.

They looked at the most contentious issues of the 407 reviews in the first round of cinch Premiership fixtures and the Viaplay Cup, 24 of which led to on-field reviews.

Other than Miovski’s penalty, the other two perceived errors went against Dundee.

The panel felt Josh Mulligan should not have been sent off for a challenge on Kilmarnock winger Danny Armstrong on September 23.

Video assistant referee Euan Anderson asked David Munro to review the incident but the referee stuck by his original decision.

The IRP also felt Dundee were on the receiving end of an injustice when Amadou Bakayoko had a goal disallowed in a 2-0 win at Livingston on October 28. Referee Willie Collum ruled the goal out after reviewing footage, deciding the offside Jordan McGhee was interfering with play.

Only three decisions have been deemed incorrect by the VAR Independent Review Panel (IRP) following the first round of cinch Premiership fixtures, the PA news agency understands.

Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski’s so-called double-hit penalty against St Mirren and two incidents that went against Dundee were flagged up as mistakes by the panel.

The IRP claimed a red card handed to Dundee midfielder Josh Mulligan and the Tayside club’s disallowed goal against Livingston were errors.

There have been 407 VAR checks since the start of the season, 24 of which led to on-field reviews.

The IRP was set up by the governing body ahead of the start of the season, the first full campaign with the video technology in place.

The panel of former players, managers and coaches is guided by experts on the Laws of the Game and gives an analysis of interventions and non-interventions from VAR.

The 12 Premiership clubs held a meeting with the Scottish FA’s referees department on Thursday to review the performance of VAR during the opening round of fixtures.

Audio of conversations between match officials and the VAR control room was relayed to the club representatives and explanations were given over how some key match incidents were dealt with.

Miovski’s spot-kick equaliser in the 10th minute of stoppage time in Paisley on August 27 prevented St Mirren from going top of the league.

There was a VAR check after Miovski dispatched the penalty as Saints goalkeeper Zach Hemming claimed the North Macedonia striker had touched the ball twice after slipping while taking the spot-kick, but the goal was given.

Mulligan was sent off for a challenge on Danny Armstrong in Dundee’s 2-2 draw with Kilmarnock on September 23.

Video assistant referee Euan Anderson asked David Munro to review the incident but the referee stuck by his original decision.

Dundee boss Tony Docherty said after the game: “I thought it was never a red card and I said that to the referee.

“Yes, it was a foul and a booking. It’s about consistency – if that’s the decision for that tackle then there should have been seven or eight red cards.”

Dundee subsequently failed to overturn the red card following an appeal.

The IRP also felt Dundee were on the receiving end of an injustice when Amadou Bakayoko had a goal disallowed in a 2-0 win at Livingston on October 28.

Referee Willie Collum ruled the goal out after reviewing footage, deciding at least one offside Dundee player was interfering with play.

Referees’ chief Howard Webb expressed his disappointment that VAR was unable to “rectify a clear error” following Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal for Liverpool against Tottenham.

Miscommunication between video assistant referee Darren England and referee Simon Hooper led to the winger’s goal being wrongly ruled out for offside in a 2-1 Premier League defeat for the Reds on September 30.

Audio of the incident was released in the aftermath and, speaking on an episode of ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’ on Sky Sports on Tuesday, Professional Game Match Officials Limited technical director Webb admitted the situation was frustrating.

“We took the unusual step of releasing the audio from this situation not long after it happened,” he said.

“We wanted to show everybody what was very quickly pretty apparent to us, a human error and loss of concentration.

“Of course we’re all disappointed the VAR system didn’t step in and rectify a clear error that we’d seen on the field with the disallowing of the goal.

“Nobody’s more disappointed than the officials themselves, they take pride in their work and want to be a positive influence on the game, but of course in this situation it wasn’t the case.”

Referees’ body PGMOL confirmed that new VAR communication guidelines would be applied.

“One of the things we have to do is put things in place so that, should we have human error, it doesn’t have the damage or the impact that we saw on this occasion,” Webb added when asked about the language officials use.

“One of the things that this has brought into sharp focus is the need to reiterate some of those communication protocols that are really valuable in VAR to prevent this kind of thing happening.”

One of the talking points from the latest round of fixtures at the weekend was the decision not to send off Manchester City’s Mateo Kovacic for a challenge on Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard.

The City midfielder was shown a yellow card before avoiding another shortly afterwards and Webb admitted Kovacic was “fortunate” to stay on the pitch.

“I do (think he was),” he said.

“I mean obviously the VAR can’t get involved, second yellows are something that the VAR is not able to get involved in, but I think he was an extremely fortunate player to stay on the field of play.

“The referee – one of our best referees, one of the best referees in the world – Michael Oliver, will no doubt review that.”

The VAR system was under the spotlight in the Premier League this weekend following the error in last week’s match between Tottenham and Liverpool.

New VAR guidelines were introduced in time for the latest round of fixtures after Liverpool forward Luis Diaz’s goal was wrongly disallowed for offside at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Here, the PA news agency looks at how VAR operated at each of this weekend’s top-flight fixtures.

Arsenal 1 Manchester City 0

Until Gabriel Martinelli’s late winner, referee Michael Oliver’s decision not to send off City’s Mateo Kovacic in the first half was set to be the biggest talking point at the Emirates Stadium. The VAR, John Brooks, reviewed the City midfielder’s poor challenge on Martin Odegaard, but did not advise Oliver to go to the pitchside monitor and review whether to upgrade his booking to a red card. Kovacic stayed on the pitch and avoided another yellow card shortly afterwards.

Brighton 2 Liverpool 2

Brighton’s draw at the Amex Stadium saw the VAR, Craig Pawson, called on to verify a penalty awarded by on-field referee Anthony Taylor at the end of the first half when Pascal Gross hauled down Dominik Szoboszlai by his collar. The video referee upheld the decision, but despite Gross appearing to be the last man, there was no red card shown to the Brighton midfielder.

Burnley 1 Chelsea 4

The VAR, Darren Bond, was called on twice in the second half at Turf Moor, first to check whether Vitinho’s foul on Raheem Sterling was inside the box once referee Stuart Atwell had awarded a penalty, and then to check if Sterling was onside in the build-up to scoring Chelsea’s third. Both of the on-field decisions were confirmed without controversy, although Chelsea fans made their feelings known about both delays.

Crystal Palace 0 Nottingham Forest 0

It was a quiet afternoon for VAR Michael Salisbury and his assistant Sian Massey-Ellis in this stalemate at Selhurst Park. In a game of few chances in Palace boss Roy Hodgson’s 400th game as a Premier League manager, no VAR checks or interventions were needed.

Everton 3 Bournemouth 0

There was a slightly longer check for Everton’s third goal, scored by Abdoulaye Doucoure on the hour-mark, but nothing too delaying or taxing. Five minutes later, there was a baffling check by VAR Simon Hooper, match referee for Liverpool’s defeat at Tottenham last week, for a Bournemouth handball in their own penalty area. But by the time the stadium announcer had revealed the VAR check was taking place, the decision had already been made that no offence had been committed.

Fulham 3 Sheffield United 1

It was a routine VAR performance at Craven Cottage. Paul Tierney reviewed a potential offside in the build-up to Fulham defender Antonee Robinson’s second-half own-goal, but deemed a team-mate to have been behind Blades left-back Yasser Larouci when the cross was made. Video footage supported the decision and referee Sam Barrott was able to award the goal.

Luton 0 Tottenham 1

The VAR was only called on once, in the 39th minute, at Kenilworth Road when Tom Lockyer headed in from close range for Luton before his effort was immediately ruled out. Referee John Brooks gave a foul for Elijah Adebayo’s push on Tottenham defender Cristian Romero and video replays via VAR showed his decision to have been correct with the review taking minimal time.

Manchester United 2 Brentford 1

With United trailing 1-0 in the 89th minute, Anthony Martial flicked on a cross and Kristoffer Ajer inadvertently directed the ball into his own net. Assistant referee Harry Lennard immediately raised his flag and the VAR, Peter Bankes, confirmed Martial had been offside in the build-up, ruling out the equaliser. In the end it mattered little for United as substitute Scott McTominay’s stoppage-time brace sealed a turnaround.

Wolves 1 Aston Villa 1

The VAR, David Coote, checked a violent conduct claim against Douglas Luiz when he clashed with Wolves forward Hwang Hee-chan, but the check was completed within a minute with video replays exonerating the Villa midfielder. There were no further VAR incidents at Molineux.

West Ham 2 Newcastle 2

Alexander Isak’s first goal for Newcastle was checked by VAR, Andy Madley. The striker looked offside when he stabbed home a loose ball, but video replays showed the ball had come off the head of West Ham’s Edson Alvarez and the goal correctly stood.

England boss Gareth Southgate believes VAR has not done anything to resolve controversial refereeing decisions.

The off-field decision-making process has come under renewed fire this week after Liverpool were denied a fair goal in their defeat at Tottenham when VAR Darren England mistakenly thought the on-field decision was onside and inadvertently validated the linesman’s offside call, with play restarting before the mistake was noticed.

There has been a huge fallout from the gaffe, with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp calling for the game to be replayed while the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has announced a review into VAR and its practices.

Southgate has always been against it and says nothing has changed from when on-field decisions were final.

“Well, all I would say is everybody used to go to the pub and moan about the ref and they still go to the pub and moan about the ref,” he quipped.

“So I’m not sure what we’ve resolved, really. I don’t like it, never have, so I have sort of dismissed it.

“I just was always brought up as a kid that the referee’s decision was final. You might agree or disagree but we have to get on with it.

“I didn’t ever feel we were going to resolve every issue.

“I think we are probably too far down the line now to go back but I didn’t like it from the off.

“Once you open up a technology opportunity, you are normally going that way and you have got to refine and improve on what happens. But yes, I don’t like it.”

The PGMOL has taken unprecedented steps in recent times of retrospectively releasing audio of the decision-making process, including England’s expletive-filled mistake at the weekend.

But fans in the stadium remain in the dark at the time, often left waiting for up to five minutes while decisions are scrutinised in Stockley Park.

“When I am at games I am always conscious that the only people who don’t know what is going on are the people who have paid to go,” he said. “I find that really difficult.

“I am sitting in the stadium next to people and I am lucky as I normally get a free ticket and other people pay a lot of money and haven’t got a clue or are on the phone to someone at home asking what’s going on.

“The frustration, you can feel it in the stadium, you can feel the view.

“I know if we didn’t have it people would go back to, ‘well this could be resolved’, but when I am in the stadiums my sense is they don’t necessarily want 14 minutes of added time or a decision by something that they are not totally across the process of.”

Meanwhile, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has said he does not know if he likes “where the game’s heading” in the wake of the VAR controversy.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, prior to the audio emerging and Klopp’s suggestion of a replay, Postecoglou questioned the game’s pursuit of “perfection”.

He told the paper: “It seems like we’re now heading towards that space of trying to find perfection in a game where the beauty of it is the imperfection.

“What makes our game different from any other game is that the goal – the actual goal, the scoring of a goal – is that most precious commodity. It’s the flaws in the game that creates goals.

“Sometimes we think it’s the brilliance – yeah, it is the brilliance, but mostly on the back of somebody’s flaw, either an opposition player or your own teammate or a referee.

“We’re trying to make this perfect game, which the other codes do – but they have to, because goals in their game don’t mean anything, so they try and create this perfect product. And that’s not football.

“Football is Maradona putting it (in with) his hand. I don’t like it, but that’s the game, and if you want to eliminate that? Yes, OK, but if you’re searching for perfection within football, I just think you take away from what the essence of it is.”

England boss Gareth Southgate insists he has never been a fan of VAR and would prefer just to accept referees’ decisions.

The off-field decision-making process has come under renewed fire this week after Liverpool were denied a fair goal in their defeat at Tottenham when VAR Darren England mistakenly thought the on-field decision was onside, but instead validated the linesman’s offside call.

There has been a huge fallout from the gaffe, with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp calling for the game to be replayed while the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has announced a review into VAR.

Southgate’s side were victims of a contentious call in the early days of VAR when Jesse Lingard had a goal disallowed in the semi-final of the Nations League in 2019 after a questionable offside decision.

And the manager’s fondness for the system has not grown since then.

“Well, when you say I was at the forefront of it, I wasn’t for it,” Southgate said.

“My first experience of it…we’re still not sure if the Jesse Lingard goal that knocked us out of a semi-final was legit or not.

“I don’t like it. I think we should just accept referees’ decisions, but I also know that we’re unlikely to go back to a world where we don’t have technology as part of that decision-making process.

“It was never going to resolve every issue and I don’t think there is any solution that will achieve that.”

The official responsible for Saturday’s VAR blunder broke his own golden rule when he wrongly ruled out Luis Diaz’s goal for Liverpool at Tottenham, a new book has revealed.

Darren England submitted to a Q&A for ‘The Football School Encyclopedia’ in which, asked ‘What is the hardest part of the job?’ he responds: “Making sure you do not make a mistake that impacts the outcome of the match.

“This is the worst thing for us.”

By a remarkable quirk of timing, the book, which is written by Alex Bellos and Ben Lyttleton and aimed at younger readers, will be published on Thursday and offers insight into one of those responsible for what veteran former referee Keith Hackett described in the Telegraph as an episode of “staggering incompetence”.

England and his VAR assistant Dan Cook have been stood down from future appointments while Professional Game Match Officials Limited chiefs undertake a full review of the “significant human error” that it concedes was made during the game.

In the Q&A, which was conducted prior to the incident, England continues: “I try to prepare the same way for every match, which is to stay calm and relaxed.

“During the match I remain very focused and just take each decision I need to make, one at a time.

“I do not worry about past decisions in the game as it is all about the next decision.”

The Football School Encyclopedia is aimed at younger readers and boasts its appeal to “anyone with a thirst for knowledge, amazing true stories, terrific trivia, brain-busting quizzes, eye-popping colour, laugh-out-loud cartoons on every page – and everything you want to know about football!”

A review of how VAR is used in the English game is under way after miscommunication between officials led to a Liverpool goal being wrongly disallowed on Saturday.

Here, the PA news agency provides an update on where we are.

What happened?

On-field referee Simon Hooper and his assistants flagged Luis Diaz offside after he fired in what would have been the opening goal in the Reds’ Premier League match at Tottenham on Saturday.

Crucially, VAR Darren England thought the on-field decision had been onside. So although he followed the correct procedure in drawing lines and identifying that Diaz was onside, by telling the on-field officials “check complete” they thought their decision to give offside had been upheld by the check.

Only in the seconds which followed did the VAR operators realise their error, by which time play had restarted. Current protocols do not permit a decision to be revisited once that has happened.

How did Liverpool react?

The club issued a statement on Sunday night saying that sporting integrity had been undermined by the error and that they would “explore the range of options available given the clear need for escalation and resolution”. The club requested – and were sent – the audio of the incident before it was released publicly on Tuesday evening.

What happens next?

The first thing to say is that Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) admitted on Saturday evening that a “significant error” had occurred. As well as standing down England and the assistant VAR Daniel Cook for duties on Sunday and Monday, plus the weekend to come, it has identified some “key learnings” from the incident.

These include the development of a new communications protocol to enhance clarity between referees and VARs. Phil Bentham has been brought into PGMOL from rugby league to improve communication between officials and will no doubt be key to this work.

VARs will now also confirm the outcome of their check with their assistants in the booth, before relaying the final decision to on-field officials.

PGMOL and the Football Association will also review the policy allowing officials to be involved in domestic league matches overseas, after England and Cook were part of a team which oversaw a game in the United Arab Emirates last Thursday, arriving back in the UK on Friday morning.

What has the Premier League said?

The league issued a statement saying that the Diaz incident highlighted “systemic weaknesses” in the VAR process and said a wider review to seek consistently-higher standards would now take place.

Besides improving communication between officials, what else could change?

The incident has led to renewed calls from fans and pundits to allow the conversations between VARs and referees to be broadcast live. Eighty per cent of fans supported this being introduced in a Football Supporters’ Association survey published in the summer and the boss of TNT Sports – one of the league’s key broadcast partners – said in July it was a “huge missed opportunity” not to have such a system in place.

While the Premier League has never publicly given its view on live audio, it was part of a World Leagues Forum poll published in June which found 25 out of the 41 leagues surveyed supported its introduction.

Crucially though, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which sets the game’s laws, is understood not to have received any requests so far in the current cycle to trial a live audio system.

What about in-stadium announcements like we had at the Women’s World Cup?

To date this has been a FIFA-only trial, but IFAB is prepared to open it up to allow other competitions to take part. However, the announcements are limited to decisions where an on-field review is conducted by a referee at a pitchside monitor. Offside decisions such as the Diaz incident are not checked in this way.

What about semi-automated offside?

This is in operation in a number of major competitions, having first been trialled at the men’s World Cup in Qatar. However, the Premier League has so far opted not to introduce it. It can also be argued that it would not have helped in a situation like Diaz – the existing technology was used to identify that Diaz was onside, the mistake was human error, pure and simple.

Liverpool have criticised the Professional Game Match Officials Limited and warned they will “explore the range of options available” following the VAR controversy at Tottenham.

The PGMOL admitted VAR officials Darren England and Dan Cook failed to act after Luis Diaz’s 34th-minute strike at Tottenham was wrongly ruled out for offside. Still images of the incident showed Cristian Romero playing Diaz onside.

The disallowed goal came with the match still goalless but after Curtis Jones had been controversially sent off following England’s intervention. Liverpool went on to lose 2-1.

The officials were stood down from duty for the rest of the weekend but Liverpool will continue to pursue the matter.

A statement read: “Liverpool Football Club acknowledges PGMOL’s admission of their failures last night. It is clear that the correct application of the laws of the game did not occur, resulting in sporting integrity being undermined.

“We fully accept the pressures that match officials work under but these pressures are supposed to be alleviated, not exacerbated, by the existence and implementation of VAR.

“It is therefore unsatisfactory that sufficient time was not afforded to allow the correct decision to be made and that there was no subsequent intervention.

“That such failings have already been categorised as ‘significant human error’ is also unacceptable. Any and all outcomes should be established only by the review and with full transparency.

“This is vital for the reliability of future decision making as it applies to all clubs with learnings being used to make improvements to processes in order to ensure this kind of situation cannot occur again.

“In the meantime, we will explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution.”

England was due to be fourth official at Sunday’s Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Brentford, while Cook was to be assistant referee for Monday’s west London derby between Fulham and Chelsea.

But the PGMOL announced on Sunday morning that England, the main VAR official at Tottenham, had been replaced by Craig Pawson, while Eddie Smart will step in for Cook, who was the assistant VAR to England.

“Darren England, VAR on the Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool fixture, and Dan Cook, AVAR on the same game, have been replaced for the Nottingham Forest v Brentford and Fulham v Chelsea matches today and tomorrow night respectively,” a PGMOL statement said.

“Craig Pawson will now assume England’s duties as fourth official at the City Ground while Eddie Smart will take over from Cook as assistant referee at Craven Cottage.”

Son Heung-min put Spurs in front moments after Diaz’s goal was disallowed, and although Cody Gakpo levelled, Tottenham won 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time own goal from Joel Matip, with Liverpool finishing the game with nine men after Diogo Jota also saw red.

In a statement on Saturday, PGMOL said: “PGMOL acknowledge a significant human error occurred during the first half of Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool.

“The goal by Luis Diaz was disallowed for offside by the on-field team of match officials.

“This was a clear and obvious factual error and should have resulted in the goal being awarded through VAR intervention, however, the VAR failed to intervene.

“PGMOL will conduct a full review into the circumstances which led to the error.”

Liverpool have criticised the Professional Game Match Officials Limited and warned they will “explore the range of options available” following the VAR controversy at Tottenham.

The PGMOL admitted VAR officials Darren England and Dan Cook failed to act after Luis Diaz’s 34th-minute strike at Tottenham was wrongly ruled out for offside. Still images of the incident showed Cristian Romero playing Diaz onside.

The disallowed goal came with the match still goalless but after Curtis Jones had been controversially sent off following England’s intervention. Liverpool went on to lose 2-1.

The officials were stood down from duty for the rest of the weekend but Liverpool will continue to pursue the matter.

A statement read: “Liverpool Football Club acknowledges PGMOL’s admission of their failures last night. It is clear that the correct application of the laws of the game did not occur, resulting in sporting integrity being undermined.

“We fully accept the pressures that match officials work under but these pressures are supposed to be alleviated, not exacerbated, by the existence and implementation of VAR.

“It is therefore unsatisfactory that sufficient time was not afforded to allow the correct decision to be made and that there was no subsequent intervention.

“That such failings have already been categorised as ‘significant human error’ is also unacceptable. Any and all outcomes should be established only by the review and with full transparency.

“This is vital for the reliability of future decision making as it applies to all clubs with learnings being used to make improvements to processes in order to ensure this kind of situation cannot occur again.

“In the meantime, we will explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution.”

England was due to be fourth official at Sunday’s Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Brentford, while Cook was to be assistant referee for Monday’s west London derby between Fulham and Chelsea.

But the PGMOL announced on Sunday morning that England, the main VAR official at Tottenham, had been replaced by Craig Pawson, while Eddie Smart will step in for Cook, who was the assistant VAR to England.

“Darren England, VAR on the Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool fixture, and Dan Cook, AVAR on the same game, have been replaced for the Nottingham Forest v Brentford and Fulham v Chelsea matches today and tomorrow night respectively,” a PGMOL statement said.

“Craig Pawson will now assume England’s duties as fourth official at the City Ground while Eddie Smart will take over from Cook as assistant referee at Craven Cottage.”

Son Heung-min put Spurs in front moments after Diaz’s goal was disallowed, and although Cody Gakpo levelled, Tottenham won 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time own goal from Joel Matip, with Liverpool finishing the game with nine men after Diogo Jota also saw red.

In a statement on Saturday, PGMOL said: “PGMOL acknowledge a significant human error occurred during the first half of Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool.

“The goal by Luis Diaz was disallowed for offside by the on-field team of match officials.

“This was a clear and obvious factual error and should have resulted in the goal being awarded through VAR intervention, however, the VAR failed to intervene.

“PGMOL will conduct a full review into the circumstances which led to the error.”

VAR has been given a massive thumbs-down in a new fans’ survey published on Wednesday.

Almost two thirds (63.3 per cent) of supporters said they oppose the use of VAR, with only 26.8 per cent saying they were absolutely or somewhat in favour of it. The National Supporters Survey was commissioned by the Football Supporters’ Association and covered 9,645 fans, running online in March and April.

Only one in 20 (5.5 per cent) of fans who had experienced the technology being used in stadiums rated their experience of it as good or very good.

The survey also found overwhelming support for the introduction of an independent regulator for English football, with 88.2 per cent of those surveyed agreeing on the need for the regulator to ensure the game is run more sustainably.

The negativity towards VAR in 2023 contrasts with the 2017 FSA survey – prior to VAR’s introduction – which found 74.6 per cent of fans favoured the use of video referees to support on-field officials with game-changing decisions.

More than three quarters of match-goers (79.1 per cent) and two thirds of TV viewers (65.4 per cent) now rate their experience of VAR as either poor or very poor.

Almost 92 per cent said decisions were taking too long to make, while 80 per cent said fans should be able to hear discussions between the
VAR and the on-pitch referee.

Referees’ chief Howard Webb is determined to provide greater transparency around VAR in the English game, within the bounds of what is allowed by the laws of the sport.

He appeared on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football programme on May 15 to talk through how a number of decisions from earlier in the season had been made, and often how complex these decisions can be and why time is needed to ensure accuracy.

He also pointed out that, under the game’s current laws, the conversations between referees and VARs cannot be broadcast live.

FIFA trialled a system where referees communicated the final outcome of VAR decisions to fans in the stadium and those watching on television at the Club World Cup in February, and is considering continuing the trial at this summer’s Women’s World Cup.

While Webb’s MNF appearance was a one-off for last season, it is understood this could become a more regular feature next season. Professional Game Match Officials Limited is also in ongoing dialogue with FSA representatives.

Fan support for independent regulation was overwhelming, with almost nine in 10 supportive of such a body being established.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said earlier this month that the Government’s consultation response on the White Paper for football governance would be published this summer, but it is not expected that a regulator backed by statute could be up and running until the 2024-25 season at the earliest.

Fans clearly feel the need for action on the way the game is run, with only 37.8 per cent saying they felt optimistic about the future of football.

FSA chairman Malcolm Clarke said: “Football has said for years that it can regulate itself. The findings from our survey show that it has become apparent to the overwhelming majority of fans that it cannot, and that independent regulation is required to safeguard the future of our clubs, and the game itself.

“Football clubs can’t continue to be allowed to mark their own homework, and so we will be pressing the Government to make sure what the regulator laid out in their White Paper becomes a reality.”

Fans are also concerned about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

One in five (21.7 per cent) fans said they were attending fewer games because of the rising cost of living, and almost a third – 31.9 per cent – had reduced their matchday spending on items such as food, drink and programmes.

The survey also found nine in 10 supporters favoured an away fan price-cap in the EFL following the announcement of its new record television deal with Sky Sports.

Ross County manager Malky Mackay hopes there are serious discussions about the use of VAR in Scottish football this summer – but he fears they could come too late for his side.

Mackay was frustrated to see his side get a penalty award rescinded at Fir Park on Saturday after referee Euan Anderson blew quickly following Calum Butcher’s challenge on Connor Randall just as George Harmon was about to shoot.

And his mood was exacerbated when Keith Watson was penalised for handball to allow in-form Motherwell striker Kevin van Veen to net the only goal 10 minutes into stoppage time, which kept County in the cinch Premiership bottom two.

The ball brushed off Watson’s hand as Jonathan Obika was looking to get a shot away but Mackay feels his side have been the victims of a series of harsh calls.

“Common sense seems to have gone from the situation,” he said.

“We got one against us at Dundee United that skims a pinkie – it was ridiculous. When we played Celtic, we got one against us that skimmed a shoulder and nobody claimed for.

“The bar has been changed in Europe because there was an appeal in the Champions League that wasn’t even looked at.

“But here, every time the ref goes to the monitor they don’t stand by their decision. They are changing it and there is nobody saying, ‘I’ve seen it in real time’.

“I would hope there are internal discussions between the refs, the supervisors and the SFA. The referees’ reputations are being spoken about every week.

“And I would hope the clubs are involved as there is a lot of discord and the clear and obvious thing isn’t working properly.

“Could it come too late for us? Yeah, completely, and there’s nothing I can do about that.”

County were edging out of the danger zone until the penalty but they have a chance to take advantage of relegation rivals Dundee United and Kilmarnock playing each other on Wednesday while they host St Johnstone.

County then travel to Rugby Park and Motherwell could have a major say in who goes down when they host United next Sunday.

The Steelmen have already beaten Kilmarnock since the split and manager Stuart Kettlewell is delighted to see his side maintain their standards.

“I would never want anyone to label at me or the club that we have taken our foot off the pedal and start trying to swan about a football pitch and think we are owed something in this game, because that can come back and bite you,” he said.

“We have worked hard all week to make sure that’s where our mindset is and I can assure people that will be the same for the last two games as well.

“It’s going to be a tough fight at the bottom and we have to play our part so the natural order takes its place and if we do that we can finish off a difficult season well.”

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