The use of VAR has generated a lot of controversy for Wolves this season. Gary O’Neil’s team has suffered numerous losses as a result of the sometimes perplexing judgements made by Stockley Park management.
Wolves were quite incensed over the weekend when VAR disallowed Max Kilman’s stoppage-time equaliser against West Ham. Both the Molineux team and the football community widely criticised this as a result.
The Wolves fan base has never been more vocal in calling for the system to be abolished after it all but destroyed their season and eliminated any chance of them qualifying for Europe.
Would Wolves’ season be altered by the lack of VAR, though?
This article explains how the Premier League standings would have changed in the 2023–2024 season if VAR had not been implemented.
Wolves were quite incensed over the weekend when VAR disallowed Max Kilman’s stoppage-time equaliser against West Ham. Both the Molineux team and the football community widely criticised this as a result.
The Wolves fan base has never been more vocal in calling for the system to be abolished after it all but destroyed their season and eliminated any chance of them qualifying for Europe.
Would Wolves’ season be altered by the lack of VAR, though?
This article explains how the Premier League standings would have changed in the 2023–2024 season if VAR had not been implemented.
This season, VAR has been widely perceived as being against Wolves. Many felt that Kilman’s aim was disqualified, which was the last straw in a nearly four-year run with few advancements.
However, new evidence has suggested that this is unfounded. Manchester World have developed a table on the Premier League if VAR did not exist.
| Position | Team | Points without VAR | Difference |
| 1st | Arsenal | 71 | 0 |
| 2nd | Liverpool | 70 | -1 |
| 3rd | Manchester City | 70 | 0 |
| 4th | Tottenham | 62 | +2 |
| 5th | Aston Villa | 61 | +1 |
| 6th | Manchester United | 50 | +1 |
| 7th | West Ham | 50 | +2 |
| 8th | Newcastle | 48 | +2 |
| 9th | Brighton | 43 | 0 |
| 10th | Wolves | 43 | +1 |
| 11th | Bournemouth | 43 | +2 |
| 12th | Chelsea | 41 | -3 |
| 13th | Fulham | 36 | -3 |
| 14th | Crystal Palace | 30 | 0 |
| 15th | Brentford | 29 | 0 |
| 16th | Luton | 26 | +1 |
| 17th | Everton | 24 | -2 |
| 18th | Nottingham Forest | 21 | -1 |
| 19th | Burnley | 19 | +1 |
| 20th | Sheffield United | 17 | +1 |
As seen by the results, Wolves’ season has barely changed. The club would have moved up one position but have actually gained one point thanks to the system.
In comparison, teams such as Chelsea and Fulham would have both lost three points if VAR did not exist.
The table portrays a great relationship between Wolves and VAR, yet it couldn’t be further from the reality.
The times the system has failed to correct an obvious mistake made by the on-field officials are a significant problem that this table overlooks. This has been a problem for the Wolves all season.
The season’s first game saw Man United ‘keeper Andre Onana clatter Sasa Kalajdzic without winning the ball, but VAR failed to give Wolves a penalty. The decision by VAR to uphold the verdict was universally denounced, even though the on-field referee was blind to the collision.
Similar occurrences have happened throughout the campaign such as Newcastle’s and Fulham’s penalties which the system also failed to overturn.
This, combined with the long and impractical waiting times for checks to be made will make few fans change their mind about VAR.
