Three UCFB academics have produced an article on VAR's controversial impact on football, entitled 'It's not football anymore: perceptions of the video assistant referee by English Premier League football fans.'
Christie Scanlon, Conor McGillick and Head of Academics Gerald Griggs all contributed to the research, which draws on the response of one hundred English Premier League fans and their perceptions of VAR during the 2019/20 season.
Commenting on the impact of the study, Christie said: "The paper is the first empirical study that explores decision-aid technology in sport and the evolution of football fandom in England. It is hoped that this article will pave the way for further studies on VAR and sports fans across different contexts. Students who want to explore the sociology of football in a global context will find this paper relevent."
In order to assess perceptions of VAR across a representative fan group, data was collected at pubs, fan areas, family zones, public areas, and online on Premier League Forums and Official Message Boards, ensuring a range of different age and socioeconomic groups were considered.
The results demonstrate the complexity of fan relations with VAR, as many recognised the additional fairness and objectivity it brings to the game, but simultaneously cited the disruption to the flow of the game and ruining the moment, as well as ongoing questions about accuracy, as some of the primary setbacks of video technology. Overall, fans were not particularly positive about its use, albeit it remains a dividing subject and views, as ever, have the potential to change with time.
