Howard Webb believes the VAR Standard has improved in 2024-25 season

PGMOL chief Howard Webb has said the Premier League has enjoyed a better officiating at this stage of the season compared to the previous one.

The VAR has made two errors so far according to the 53-year-old, speaking from the conclusion drawn by panels of an independent panel of ex-players, who judge each decision each week — compared to ten at the same stage last season — he sees an improvement.

One of the errors made was the sending off of Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes during the club’s 3-0 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur last month. The Portuguese midfielder was wrongfully dismissed by has held a successful appeal.

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Howard Webb says VAR standard has improved

The former Premier League referee has attempted to show officials in a different light and improve standards, which he believes have increased in the first seven rounds of the Premier League campaign.

“I don’t think we managed expectations well in terms of VAR,” Webb told the Stick to Football podcast.

“We knew it was always going to be a situation where it was going to do well on those clear situations, the ones where you think, ‘That’s clearly wrong on first view’.

“We have this independent panel which has got ex-players on it, and they judge each decision each week, and according to the panel there has only been two VAR errors this season compared to 10 at the same time last year.

“We’ve been better at hitting the mark but that can change and we’re not going to get complacent, but it’s been better.

“For me, the biggest thing of all is that it’s been quicker. The average delay last season through VAR was 70 seconds per game and this year it’s 25 seconds.

“I said to the guys, ‘Don’t ponder for too long, if you see a situation that jumps off the screen then get involved, but if you’re having to think about it too much then just say check complete because we’ll leave it with the referee on the field’. That’s why the term, ‘Referee’s call’ is useful.” Webb concluded.