The lack of VAR in the women’s game is a direct threat to its progress, and we need to talk about it
29/04/2024
By Lucy Williams
“VAR on Tablet During Football Match - Video Assistant Referee” by Footy.com Images is licensed under CC BY 2.0
It was the summer of 2022. Chloe Kelly had just scored the goal of her career in the 111th minute of the final of the Euros. The nation breathed a collective sigh of relief. It seemed fated: an English victory over a German side in extra time. Leah Williamson had channelled her inner Bobby Moore and captained Sarina Wiegman’s side to victory. The dulcet tones of David Baddiel and Frank Skinner finally rang true. Football had come home after a long, long 56 years of hurt.
This is the scene that flashes into my head as I sit here lamenting the fact that women’s football has been let down yet again. Euro ‘22 was a simpler, more hopeful time, where we thought that things would maybe change. Perhaps this tournament would finally result in women’s football getting the recognition it has always deserved. Maybe this was the watershed moment where clubs would finally pull themselves up by their football laces and adequately fund and develop their women’s teams. Gabby Logan expressed this hope too, ending the broadcast of the final by saying ‘the Lionesses have brought football home; now it’s down to the rest of us to make sure it stays here’. It was a call to action and a rallying cry to the public, urging it to channel the excitement of international women’s football into the domestic league. Many fans have kept their end of the bargain, but if structures are not put in place to further professionalise the game - and quickly - clubs run the risk of creating disillusioned fans who give up watching altogether.
One of the main factors holding women’s football back in terms of being considered as seriously as the men’s game is the total lack of VAR in the Women’s Super League (WSL) and the absence of continuity in its use in international matches. Granted, many fans of the men’s game are vocally opposed to VAR, and we often hear phrases such as ‘VAR has ruined the game’, and they would undoubtedly argue that it is in women’s football’s best interests to not have it . Their arguments do have some merit, and I do concede that there have been some examples of VAR working to the detriment of football, but the pros almost certainly outweigh the cons. Football is a game of incredibly small margins, and one wrong call by a referee can alter the course of an entire season for a team. Indeed, the lack of VAR in England’s Nations League clash against the Netherlands in September resulted in Renate Jansen’s match-winning goal being allowed despite Danielle van de Donk clearly being offside. This decision significantly contributed to Team GB’s football team not qualifying for the 2024 Olympics. We again saw the importance of goal line technology in the international sphere at the 2023 Women’s World Cup as it confirmed that Lina Hurtig’s penalty had, indeed, crossed the line by just a couple of millimetres. This decision over a matter of tiny proportions had an impact of epic ones. It resulted in Sweden progressing to the quarter finals at the expense of the USA who faced their earliest ever exit from a World Cup.
Domestically, the importance of introducing VAR has also been highlighted time and time again. For example, earlier in the season, a Guru Reitan goal for Chelsea was disallowed in their match against Tottenham despite the ball crossing the line - a blunder Chelsea manager Emma Hayes described as ‘ludicrous’ and ‘embarrassing’. Indeed, Hayes has been an outspoken advocate for introducing VAR into the WSL, arguing that its absence is representative of female footballers’ status as ‘second class citizens’. She is right: the absence of positive steps towards beginning to implement VAR in the women’s game is a disservice to both players and fans.
There has been talk of introducing VAR into the women’s game for a long time now. But that isall it has been: talk. Baroness Sue Campbell - the Football Association’s director of women’s football - has repeatedly batted away criticism and attempted to appease angry fans by promising that VAR will come in at some point. But when? What concrete action has been taken? Yes, VAR was trialled in a friendly between Chelsea and Roma last September but what steps have been taken since then to build upon this? Random, ad hoc measures are simply not good enough.
I am not asking for the world. I know that implementing VAR requires funding, infrastructure, and the training of WSL referees in using the technology. I know it is not something that can happen overnight. All I am asking for is a commitment from clubs to make introducing the technology a priority and a timeline outlining the steps that will be taken and when.
As of next season, the FA will no longer own the WSL. In a move which will mirror the structure of the Premier League, the WSL will be owned by NewCo and all of the clubs will be shareholders. I implore NewCo to do better than the FA have done. Nikki Doucet, the CEO of NewCo, has stressed the importance of recognising the fact that women’s football is a ‘competitive sport’. She is right, of course, and now finds herself in the privileged position to take steps to ensure women’s football is treated with the same respect offered to the men’s game. A sure-fire way to work towards doing this? You guessed it, by introducing VAR and goal line technology to the WSL!
It is in NewCo’s best interests as a commercial company to take this step towards further professionalising the women’s game. If easily avoidable refereeing errors continue to happen, the perception that women’s football is amateur will continue. This will certainly make the game less attractive to new fans. Perhaps more concerningly, it may well lead to established fans becoming increasingly jaded and losing interest. This would undermine the great strides women’s football has taken in recent years in increasing viewership statistics. Attendance at WSL matches in 2023 was 172% higher than it had been before the 2022 Euros. However, NewCo must not rest on their laurels and assume that the increased viewership is a guarantee. Work has to be put in to retaining these new fans and ensuring that they continue to show up to matches. NewCo needs to assure fans that it will make introducing new technology to the WSL a priority so that the impact that on-pitch mistakes made by referees have on the league will be mitigated.
Women’s football has seen huge progress in the last few years and, as a fan, I am thrilled. However, the reluctance to implement measures that will work towards introducing new technology to the game is proof that there is still a long way to go. Attempts to placate fans by telling them to be patient and grateful for the forward moving steps that have already been taken are evidence of the fact that players and fans are still not being taken seriously. Constant chatter needs to translate into positive action. It is the least the game deserves.
Sources:
https://theathletic.com/4913240/2023/10/03/premier-league-var-wsl-womens-football/
https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/37620425/women-game-treated-second-class-citizens-var