The VAR crises aren’t accidents; they’re the product of a referee culture that answers to no one.

Another weekend, another VAR farce. But the real scandal isn’t the offside line or the squiggly lines—it’s that referees know they can get it wrong and face nothing. No relegation, no fine, no public accountability. Just a quiet apology and a spot on next week’s roster.

How we got here: a history of protecting the badge

English refereeing has always been a guild. The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMO) is a private company owned by the Premier League, the FA, and the EFL. Its referees are employees, not independent contractors. They train together, travel together, and—crucially—are judged by each other. The result is a culture of omertà: you don’t criticise a colleague, you don’t admit fault, and you certainly don’t suggest that the system might be flawed.

When VAR arrived in 2019, it was supposed to introduce a layer of objectivity. Instead, it became a tool for reinforcing the referees’ authority. The same closed group now operates the technology, and the same code of silence applies. The only difference is that mistakes are now broadcast in super slow motion, and the excuses are more elaborate.

The case: accountability is the missing piece

Consider the evidence from this season alone. In August, Manchester United were denied a clear penalty at Tottenham when Romero headed the ball onto his own arm. The VAR, Chris Kavanagh, didn’t intervene. The PGMO later admitted it was wrong. Kavanagh faced no sanction. In September, Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon was denied a penalty at West Ham after a blatant trip. Again, no intervention. Again, no consequence. In October, Liverpool had a goal wrongly disallowed at Tottenham for offside when the VAR, Darren England, misunderstood the on-field decision. England was stood down for a week, then returned as if nothing had happened.

These aren’t isolated errors. They’re symptoms of a system that treats referees as beyond reproach. The PGMO’s response is always the same: a private apology to the club, a public statement of “learning”, and a promise to do better. But nothing changes because the incentives don’t change. Referees are graded on a curve, and the curve is set by their peers.

  • No independent review: The PGMO investigates its own mistakes. There is no external body with the power to punish or retrain referees.
  • No financial penalty: A referee who costs a club millions through a wrong decision suffers no financial hit. Their salary is guaranteed.
  • No public accountability: Referees are not required to explain their decisions to the media. They hide behind the PGMO’s press office.

The counter-argument: referees are human, and abuse is rife

The standard defence is that referees are human, that the game is fast, and that the abuse they receive—from players, managers, and fans—is intolerable. All true. But humanity is not an excuse for systemic incompetence. If a surgeon made repeated errors, we wouldn’t say, “Well, surgery is hard.” We’d demand retraining, oversight, and consequences. Referees deserve protection from abuse, but they also deserve a system that helps them improve. The PGMO does neither. It shields them from criticism while failing to give them the tools to get better.

Moreover, the abuse argument is often used to shut down legitimate criticism. Questioning a decision is not abuse. Demanding accountability is not abuse. The PGMO conflates the two to avoid scrutiny.

Verdict: nothing changes until referees face relegation

If the Premier League is serious about fixing VAR, it must introduce real consequences. That means an independent panel with the power to demote underperforming referees to the Championship, to fine them, and to force them to explain their decisions publicly. It means publishing the audio of VAR conversations in real time. It means treating refereeing like any other profession: you perform, or you’re out.

Until then, expect more of the same. My prediction: by the end of the 2024-25 season, at least three more clubs will issue formal complaints about VAR, and the PGMO will respond with another apology and zero structural change. The only way to break the cycle is to break the guild. And that won’t happen until the people who run the Premier League admit that the problem isn’t the technology—it’s the culture.

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