Graham Scott officiated in the Premier League for a decade. Getty Former Premier League referee Graham Scott has said VAR isn't "fit for purpose" and added that no match official enjoys being a "party pooper."
Scott officiated in the Premier League for a decade and has been the designated Video Assistant Referee over 100 times.
"Referees are people, too, and feel the pain inflicted by a video review system that is simply not fit for purpose," Scott said in his column for the New York Times.
"We take no pleasure in disallowing goals because a player's forehead, kneecap or big toe is too far advanced in the build-up. We hate standing around getting cold and wet while a colleague conducts a forensic analysis of a poorly timed tackle or potential penalty.
"Naturally, we are relieved when a grievous error is corrected, because none of us wants to be responsible for such an injustice, especially if it affects the result."
"But none of the Premier League's refs or growing cohort of specialist VARs revel in the role of party pooper. Despite what some would have you believe, we know the game is not about us. All our measures of success are a positive spin on a negative metric: avoiding error, staying off the radar, and keeping our heads below the parapet."
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VAR was introduced in the Premier League at the start of the 2019-20 season and in the time since, it has led to a host of contentious decisions. In 2024, Wolves called on it to be scrapped but in a subsequent vote held across the 20 teams, 19 remained in favour of it.
A survey by the Football Supporters' Association last month found that three-quarters of Premier League fans are against the use of VAR. In this survey conduced among nearly 8,000 fans, 97% of respondents opposing the statement that VAR makes watching football more enjoyable, while more than 90% disagree that it has made the matchgoing experience better.
"If we must use technology, then we have to find a way to bring fans within the stadium into the process by showing them that process, just as other sports have done successfully," Scott said.
"The outcomes will still cause dispute, but at least everyone in the ground -- including the referee -- will know what the hell is going on."
Information from PA contributed to this report.