- A revised version of the Premier League final standings has been revealed
- The new table shows where teams would have finished without VAR intervention
- Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have a year left at Liverpool… will they stay for Arne Slot’s rebuild? – Listen to It’s All Kicking Off!
Numbers have been crunched to show how the Premier League table would have looked this season if there was no VAR, but Man City would still have won the league.
All 20 Premier League clubs are set to vote next month on whether to keep VAR in place or scrap it following another season of controversial refereeing decisions and apologies being handed out by the PGMOL.
Plenty of players and managers have had their say on whether to continue with the video assistance technology or not and the conclusion of the Premier League season offers an alternative view of the table, as reported by The Sun.
If there had been no VAR in play this season then there would have been plenty of movement between clubs and their final standings, with Newcastle one of the team that would have been worse off.
While analysing every VAR intervention in Premier League matches over the course of the season, it has been revealed that Newcastle would have finished level on points with Chelsea, but their better goal difference would have moved them up to sixth.
Man City would still have lifted a fourth consecutive Premier League title even without VAR
Arsenal would have remained second in the Premier League table but would have been one point better off if there was no VAR
Wolves are one of the teams that would have climbed up the table if there was no VAR in place
Newcastle finished the campaign seventh and as it stands have a place in next season’s Europa League competition, provided Manchester United don’t beat Man City in the upcoming FA Cup final.
However, despite VAR’s numerous interventions this season, there would have been no change in the final positions of the Premier League’s top five.
Man City would still have gone on to beat Arsenal to the title and record a fourth consecutive top-flight crown, while Liverpool and Aston Villa would have remained third and fourth respectively.
However, Arsenal would have been one point closer to City which could have made for an even tighter end to the season.
Tottenham would have kept their fifth-place finish but would have finished four points less than their final tally of 66 if VAR hadn’t been in place.
Meanwhile, Manchester United would still have found themselves eighth during a disastrous second season for Erik ten Hag even if VAR hadn’t gone against them in some matches.
Wolves would have jumped one place in the league up to 13th under the revised rules, while West Ham, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Brighton would also have finished the season with more points.
Luton, Burnley and Sheffield United would have still been relegated under the revised standings, however, the Hatters would only be going down on goal difference rather than the six points Nottingham Forest finished above them.
Despite Forest being one of VAR’s biggest critics this season, they would have been three points worse off if the technology hadn’t been in place.
The revised table shows how the Premier League would have finished if there was no VAR
Manchester United would still have finished the season in eighth despite VAR’s interventions
Premier League clubs will vote at their annual AGM meeting at the start of June to decide whether to keep the system in place or scrap it altogether.
Clubs have invested heavily in new technology to improve VAR systems and improve their relationship with the still relatively new practice.
A new feature is set to make the job of officials in the VAR room at Stockley Park easier next season as semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) is introduced that will reduce the time of decisions being made.
However, if a majority of Premier League clubs decide to scrap VAR then SAOT would have to go as well, despite a deal already being in place with a system provider.
