Premier League: 13 VAR mistakes in total in season so far, say chiefs

There have been 13 Video Assistant Referee (VAR) errors in the Premier League this season so far, with league officials stating that this number is down from 20 at the same point last season. The Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel found that in the first 23 rounds of matches, there were four incorrect VAR interventions and nine missed interventions.

Across the 239 league matches this season, VAR has intervened a total of 70 times, averaging once every three games. The league stated that the accuracy rate for key match incidents has risen from 95.7% at the same stage last season to 96.4%.

Chief Football Officer Tony Scholes said: "Nobody underestimates the importance and the impact of any error. We know that an error can cost clubs, points and results can affect managers' jobs, and it can even affect players' positions."

Referees have also been subjected to abuse. Previously, police investigated "threats and abuse" directed at Michael Oliver after Arsenal's 1-0 win over Wolves. Oliver controversially sent off Arsenal defender Myles Lewis-Skelly, a decision that was later overturned on appeal. Former referee David Coote was dismissed by the refereeing body in December after being subject to a "thorough investigation" into his conduct.

Asked about trust in officials, Scholes said: "We all have a responsibility to be balanced in the comments that are made. We can't have officials - a key part of a successful and compelling league - facing the abuse that they do from time to time. These are good people. I know that's not always the perception, but their quality is recognised in other parts of the world."

The Premier League declined to list the nine missed interventions but outlined the four errors to the media. The four VAR errors included:

1. Dango Ouattara "handball" - Bournemouth 1-1 Newcastle, August 25: VAR Tim Robinson advised referee David Coote to overturn the decision to award Dango Ouattara's goal for handball. Because he believed it was a factual decision rather than a subjective one, he did not ask Coote to view the incident on the pitchside monitor. Result: There was not conclusive evidence that the position of the ball on Ouattara's arm was low enough to deem it handball, with PGMOL chief Howard Webb saying the VAR intervention was incorrect.

2. De Ligt foul on Ings - West Ham 2-1 Man Utd, October 27: West Ham forward Danny Ings went down in the box under a challenge from Man Utd defender Matthijs de Ligt. Referee David Coote waved play on, but VAR Michael Oliver advised him to view the incident on the pitchside monitor. Coote awarded a penalty, which Jarrod Bowen converted to help West Ham to victory. Webb later said that West Ham should not have been awarded a penalty.

3. Norgaard red card - Brentford 0-0 Everton, November 23: Brentford's Christian Norgaard caught Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford on the knee while challenging for the ball in the box. Referee Chris Kavanagh took no action, but VAR advised him to view the incident on the pitchside monitor. He subsequently showed Norgaard a straight red card. Norgaard was handed a three-match ban for serious foul play, a decision that was later overturned on appeal by an independent panel.

4. Milenkovic goal disallowed - Nottingham Forest 3-2 Southampton, January 19: Nikola Milenkovic headed in to put Nottingham Forest 4-1 up. VAR advised referee Anthony Taylor to disallow the goal because Forest forward Chris Wood was in an offside position and impeding a Southampton defender from challenging for the ball. Wood did not touch the ball. An independent panel deemed that the goal should have stood.

There has been "significant progress" made on semi-automated offside technology. It had been hoped that the semi-automated offside technology used in FIFA and UEFA competitions would be introduced during the international break in October or November. League officials hope this will reduce offside check times by 31 seconds. Despite Scholes himself having reservations, he said that "significant progress" had been made in the past "four to six weeks" and that there was still an intention to introduce the technology this season.

"This technology doesn't improve accuracy, it just improves efficiency," he said. "If you are absolutely convinced that it is ready, why wouldn't you introduce it?"