The use of VAR has been a hot topic in the Premier League this season, with Tottenham one of those teams impacted since its introduction.
There have been questions asked of technology within refereeing at the top level after a flurry of high-profile errors.
The PGMOL were forced to release a statement after “significant human error” in VAR failed to overturn a decision for a Liverpool goal against Tottenham, following an offside call against Luis Diaz.
Other incidents littered through the Premier League season have led to calls for VAR to be scrapped for the years ahead.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou has been less than thrilled with the implementation of technology in refereeing since joining the club.
So with that said, here’s a look at how Tottenham were impacted by VAR in the Premier League for the 2023/24 season.
Tottenham VAR decisions
With the Premier League season now completed, there can now be a proper assessment of how the VAR decisions impacted each team.
According to a report from ESPN, Tottenham had a net decision score of minus one, meaning they had one more decision overturned against them than they had in their favour.
Both Arsenal and Liverpool have a net decision score of zero, which means they had as many decisions overturned in their favour as against, while Manchester United have minus two.
Throughout the season, Spurs saw 13 decisions overturned in their games, which is the third-most in the division only behind Chelsea (18) and Aston Villa (17).
Arsenal saw nine decisions overturned in their campaign, while Liverpool had 11 to Manchester United’s 12.
Champions Manchester City had the least interference from VAR, with just four decisions overturned in their campaign.
Tottenham VAR errors
ESPN have also looked at a separate report into VAR errors, which may indicate an error in sticking with a decision, overturning a decision or not recommending a review entirely.
The report shows that Tottenham have had one error favour them and one against them.
Similarly, Arsenal have an equal playing field with two errors for and against, whilst Manchester United are beneficiaries with two in their favour and none against.
Tottenham’s Champions League rivals Aston Villa gained the most from VAR with three errors in their favour, while Liverpool were bottom with four going against them.
Premier League VAR 2023/24 table
Here’s a look at the overall table, based on the ESPN reports, where decisions are made on VAR.
The future of VAR
With plenty of noise surrounding VAR decisions, whether they are right or wrong, subjective or otherwise, it’s clear that improvements are needed.
The future of technology within football is uncertain, however long wait times, errors and a lack of communication have taken away from the spectacle for match-going supporters.
Key stakeholders in the Premier League will need VAR to succeed, however, there isn’t any one factor that appears to drastically improve the system.
For that reason, it’s still a work in progress that will need time to fix, but it is clear that patience is starting to run thin over the place of VAR in the Premier League.