Ranking every Premier League club on how many VAR mistakes went for and against them in 2023/24

Ranking every Premier League club on how many VAR mistakes went for and against them in 2023/24

The Video Assistant Referee has had yet another contentious season as VAR has marred an otherwise outstanding Premier League campaign. This week, it was reported that 31 VAR errors were committed during the campaign, including some utter catastrophes like Luis Diaz’s offside against Tottenham and Andre Onana’s fatal blow against Wolves.

Had these errors not been made, Tottenham would not have qualified for the Champions League the following season, and the entire Premier League might have had a different future. Which teams, though, profited most from these mistakes? We now have a definitive response to that query, courtesy of an ESPN report.

Aston Villa Biggest Beneficiaries

Despite all the praise Aston Villa has earned for their efforts in making it into Europe’s top league for the first time in more than 40 years, it appears that VAR has also played a part in the Villains’ achievement. Unai Emery’s team has experienced more VAR errors (3) than any other club. The only teams linked with them are Sheffield United and Newcastle.

Among the three errors in question is a penalty that Villa would later convert in the 93rd minute against Crystal Palace when the score was level at one goal apiece. In a victory over Brighton, Villa Park also committed two mistakes, the first of which occurred in the game’s opening goal when Nicolo Zaniolo obscured the goalkeeper’s view while standing in an offside position.

But Villa has not had errors work against them, unlike the Blades and the Magpies. They ended up atop the leaderboard with a net score of +3, as a result. Closely trailing +2 are Everton and Manchester United, both of whom have not allowed any errors to work against them.

Nottingham Forest’s Frustrations Justified

One of the biggest VAR-related stories during the 2023/24 season was Nottingham Forest’s social media tirade following their 2-0 defeat to Everton. In a game that was critical in Forest’s bid for survival, they were on the receiving end of some questionable decisions. This led them to confirm that they were unhappy with Stuart Atwell being the VAR for the game due to him allegedly being a Luton Town fan, another team that were involved in the relegation battle.

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