A former Man City financial advisor has rubbished a “deep conspiracy” theory linking the reigning Premier League champions with the organisation behind Stockley Park.
VAR’s application has been dominated by controversy once again this season, with human error playing a part in a number of inaccurate calls by the system in recent months.
The furore reached its peak in April after Nottingham Forest publicly accused VAR official Stuart Atwell of bias after a series of decisions went against the then relegation-threatened side in their defeat to Everton.
VAR was at the heart of the drama against last night as City beat Tottenham in a match that could decide the title race, with some fans believing Kevin de Bruyne was offside in the build up to City’s opener.
VAR did not intervene on that occasion and replays showed that to be a correct call, but some viewers still refuse to believe that the system is as fair as it purports to be.
Stefan Borson responds to VAR plot accusation
On X, formerly known as Twitter, one user highlighted a financial connection between Silver Lake, co-owners of Man City parent company City Football Group, and IMG Studios, owners of Stockley Park where VAR is stationed.
The theory suggests a potentially questionable link between the two entities through Silver Lake’s parent company, Endeavor.
Stefan Borson, a finance expert and one-time City advisor, sarcastically responded: ‘An important question here “Why do Silver Lake own IMG Studios (where VAR is at Stockley Park) via parent company Endeavor?’
‘[He] thinks he’s discovered another deep conspiracy and fraud this time involving (at least) the PL, City, SilverLake, IMG, Endeavor and the PGMOL. Bravo.’
How will VAR be used next season?
VAR is now near-ubiquitous in all of Europe’s top leagues. In fact, Sweden’s top flight is the only division in UEFA’s top 30 not to have the system in force.
The Premier League will hope that there will be less controversy next season after clubs voted to introduce semi-automated offsides, mirroring the system that has been in place in the Champions League since 2022-23.
PGMOL head Howard Webb has also announced that referees will use stadiums’ PA systems to keep match-going fans in the loop when it comes to VAR decisions.
With the powers that be seeking to improve VAR incrementally, it does not look as though the controversial system is going away any time soon.