Premier League's head of VAR to depart at end of controversial season

27 February 2023 , 09:59

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VAR chief Neil Swarbrick is stepping down (Image: Getty Images Europe)

Neil Swarbrick, who is in charge of the Premier League's video assistant referee (VAR) system, will step down at the end of this season after a string of controversies.

In December, an independent panel made up of former players and representatives from the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) claimed that six VAR calls in the Premier League this season were incorrect. That number has since grown.

Lee Mason, the Premier League's first dedicated VAR official, left the organisation after making a mistake in the 1-1 draw between Arsenal and Brentford earlier this month. It appears Swarbrick will follow Mason out of the door in a few months' time.

As reported by The Athletic, former on-field referee Swarbrick will retire at the end of this season. The 57-year-old became the head of implementation for VAR in the Premier League ahead of the 2019/20 campaign, when it was used for the first time.

Swarbrick was a referee in the Premier League between 2011 and 2018. The Preston-born official became a referee at the relatively late age of 29 before working his way up through non-league football and joining the English Football League (EFL) in 2005.

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VAR was introduced in the Premier League in August 2019 to improve decision-making and limit the amount of errors in games, which can prove costly. In theory, an incorrect call could cost a team the title or their place in the Premier League - for example.

VAR continues to cause controversy (Getty Images)

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Yet VAR has faced criticism for two main reasons. Firstly, VAR has been accused of sucking the joy out goals due them being reviewed and potentially disallowed. Secondly - and more importantly - a lot of wrong decisions are still being made.

For instance, Swarbrick was on VAR duty during West Ham's recent game against Chelsea when he chose not to tell on-field referee Craig Pawson about a handball by Thomas Soucek. Failure to do so denied Graham Potter's side a potential late penalty.

"Football as a community would want that given as a penalty kick," ex-referee Peter Walton told BT Sport at the time. "As a former Premier League referee, I think that was the wrong decision today and should have been a penalty."

Swarbrick's exit is not thought to be down to VAR's recent mistakes. The Premier League's refereeing structure is going through a transitional period, with PGMOL's managing director Mike Riley stepping down at the end of this term.

PGMOL are yet to announce Riley's and Swarbrick's successors. Howard Webb, who refereed the 2010 World Cup final, was appointed as PGMOL's first chief refereeing officer in August after a five-year spell working in Major League Soccer (MLS).

Speaking to BBC Sport in December, Webb insisted PGMOL want VAR to centre around "clear and obvious" errors. He added: "We don't want the VARs to be looking too hard. We want them just to look for those errors that jump off the screen at you."

Tom Blow