VAR Performance Tables

With the 2021/22 season now behind us, here at OLBG, we took a look at how VAR has performed over last season, seeing how it compares to the previous two seasons and, crucially, if the process has improved. 

The data has also allowed us to see which referees were involved in the most incidents, either having their on-field decisions changed or overturning them while in the VAR room. As well as this we’ve been able to show which stadiums have had the most decisions overturned and whether the ratio of decisions being checked or overturned in the final minutes of matches was higher compared to other periods. 

Here’s a full breakdown of how VAR has performed in the past three seasons…

Image Credit: SounderBruce, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Total Number of VAR Overturns

Throughout the 2021/22 campaign, there have been 80 incidents that VAR has overturned, which has proved to be a significant reduction from the two previous; 2020/21 data showed there were 110 on-field decisions changed and 2019/20 (the first season the tech was introduced had even more with 120. 

That means last season, there was a 33% reduction in overturns from when the technology was introduced two years ago, perhaps indicating the process has improved. 

However, this is purely going by the numbers which don’t reflect the decisions VAR arguably got wrong or completely overlooked during last season. But it does show how much of a reduction the tech has been used in games compared to the two previous campaigns. 

Across the three seasons, match week 10 proved to have the most decisions changed by VAR with 17.    

Individual Referee’s Performances 2021/22

In terms of on-field decisions being overturned, Chris Kavanagh saw eight of his calls corrected by the VAR officials, meaning he accounted for 10% of the total number of overturns in the 2021/22 campaign.

Darren England, David Coote, Anthony Taylor, Stuart Attwell and Craig Pawson all tied in second, having six of their decisions overturned by the Stockley Park-based officials. 

The now-retired Mike Dean was next, seeing five of his calls chalked off or overruled. 

On the flip side, Jarred Gillet was the official in charge of VAR responsible for overturning the most on-field decisions while officiating from Stockley Park, changing nine throughout the season. 

Chris Kavanagh again placed high on this list, coming second with eight, while Lee Mason, John Brookes and Jonathan Moss (who like Dean also hung up his whistle at the end of the season) all had seven overturns in the VAR room. 

Individual Referee’s Performances - Overall

Stats for all three VAR seasons read differently though, with Martin Atkinson topping the charts by some distance when it comes to having his on-field decisions overturned by Stockley Park officials. 

He saw 31 of his calls overruled by VAR, with the next highest being Mike Dean with 26 across that time span. 

Anthony Taylor and Craig Pawson were level on 22, placing joint third on the list. Paul Tierney and Michale Oliver had the joint least with just one of their decisions being chalked off over the three seasons. 

Jonathan Moss overturned the most decisions from the VAR room with 31 during the three seasons it's been active. 

That proved to be the most by some distance as Chris Kavanagh ranked second with nine less than Moss at 22. Paul Tierney was third, just behind Kavanagh on 21. In terms of the least amount, sixteen different VAR officials tied on one, making them all the joint lowest.  

Overturns - 80 Minutes Onwards

Across the three seasons, VAR has been in place in the Premier League, there have been a total of 60 overturns after 80 minutes and onwards in matches, which accounts for nearly 20% of all overturned decisions. Just 15 of those came in its debut season back in 2019/20, while the number increased to 29 during 2020/21 and 16 in the last campaign. 

While this is not fully conclusive, it does show that time is not a factor when it comes to VAR’s decision-making, with the crucial last section of matches having a relatively even split of overturns compared with other periods of games.  

Overturns By Referee Per Club

Since the introduction of VAR, no side has had more decisions overturned than Manchester City with 25 decisions amended or adjusted since the 2019/20 season. Arsenal follows next in a close second with 22 refereeing decisions since VAR has been introduced being overturned, with Manchester United in third with 20 decisions. 

Of the teams to have been playing in the Premier League consistently since the introduction of VAR, Burnley (10 overturns) and Newcastle (9 overturns) have seen the least amount of interventions in refereeing decisions within their fixtures. 

Of Manchester City’s overturned decisions, it was retiring referee Mike Dean who had the most of his decisions overturned by VAR with four decisions deemed incorrect. Elsewhere, for Arsenal, it was Craig Pawson who had the most decisions corrected when concerning Arsenal with five overturned decisions, whilst Chris Kavanagh was the referee who Manchester United found themselves affected by most as six of his decisions have been overturned so far. 

Overall, Martin Atkinson was the referee who experienced the highest number of his on-pitch decisions being overturned, as he saw 31 decisions overturned since the introduction of VAR over the last three seasons - six of those affecting Crystal Palace specifically. That is an average of 10 decisions a season. Retiring referee Mike Dean followed in second as he had 26 decisions overturned across the three-season period. Craig Pawson and Anthony Taylor tied in third with 22 of their on-pitch decisions each overturned by VAR.

Overturns By VAR Referee

When in control of VAR from the safety of Stockley Park, it was experienced referee Jonathan Moss who was most trigger-happy in the VAR booth as he overturned 31 decisions of his colleagues across the three-season timeframe. Comfortably in first place, Moss was most influential in correcting decisions that affected Tottenham Hotspur (5 overturns) and Everton (4 overturns). The VAR referee with the second most interventions is some way back with just 22 overturns as Chris Kavanagh sees an even spread of decisions across the clubs officiated. 

Paul Tierney comes in third with 21 decisions overturned as VAR referee, with Chelsea being the club most affected by Tierney's corrections as he overturned four decisions specifically Chelsea-related.

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