Championship officials got 85.6 per cent of key decisions right this season without the aid of video assistant referees (VAR), according to an independent panel review.
The English Football League’s (EFL) Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel reviewed 1,592 decisions in the Championship during the 2023-24 and deemed 1,363 to be correct, with 229 incorrect.
Key match incidents include penalties, red cards, the denial of a goal scoring opportunity, a second yellow card, goals and offside judgements leading to goals.
VAR has been in the Premier League since the 2019-20 season but is yet to be implemented in English football’s second tier. The Athletic previously reporting there was concerns over running costs and scepticism among clubs.
The technology will, however, be in used at Wembley for the Championship, League One and League Two play-off finals, as was the case last season.
While helping with decision making it has has provided persistent controversy since its introduction. This week The Athletic reported Premier League clubs are set to vote at their annual general meeting in June on a proposal to abolish VAR next season after a resolution was formally submitted by Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The absence of VAR in the Championship has faced criticism from certain managers. Leeds United manager Daniel Farke suggested his side had been on the receiving end of incorrect refereeing decisions in the Championship this season which would have been resolved by VAR, while Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca called for its introduction into the second tier in January after dropping points against Coventry City and Ipswich Town.
Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick, however, questioned how straightforward VAR would be to implement, while Championship fans have voiced their disapproval for the technology.
The KMI panel sits every week to review major incidents. It was introduced for the Championship ahead of the 2023-24 season, having been implemented for the Premier League season the previous campaign.
It consists of seven members, including former players and coaches, plus one member of the EFL and the Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOL), English football’s officiating body.
(Ed Sykes/Getty Images)
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