Premier League Table without VAR 2025/26

The Premier League introduced the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) during the 2018-2019 season, and its use and impact have faced significant scrutiny ever since.

Here, we examine how the 2025-2026 Premier League table would look if VAR had never been implemented, with all on-field decisions remaining final.

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What’s happened so far?

Chelsea vs Arsenal

We saw one of the great ‘Battles at the Bridge’ in Gameweek 13, as Chelsea hosted Arsenal in what some were dubbing as a major title-impacting fixture. In the first half, Moises Caicedo put in a dangerous challenge on Mikel Merino, which referee Anthony Taylor initially brandished a yellow card for. Upon review though, the VAR team identified Caicedo’s challenge as a tackle which used excessive force. The Ecuadorian was sent off, leaving the Blues with 10-men for the remainder of the game. While the game ended 1-1, we felt the momentum was firmly with the home team before the sending off, and therefore award Chelsea with all three points, because without VAR, Caicedo would’ve remained on the pitch.

Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest

Yet again, it was a weekend to forget for Liverpool fans. They hosted Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest at Anfield, and suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat. Although, at 0-0, Murillo converted from close range from a Forest corner. Controversy arose when Dan Ndoye was declared in an offside position, but was not deemed to obstructing Alisson’s line of sight. Liverpool fans contested this, and so do we, as Ndoye is standing right in front of the goalkeeper. With that in mind and abiding by our house rules, we’re giving a point to each team.

Man City vs Liverpool

Arne Slot’s side struggled to compete at the Etihad in Gameweek 11, and were sent back to Liverpool licking their wounds after a 3-0 defeat to Man City. A controversial goal was disallowed however; Virgil van Dijk thought he equalised in the first half, but the linesman and VAR deemed Andy Robertson to be in an offside position, and crucially, was interfering with player, as he ducked to allow the ball to hit the back of the net.

Given that we don’t feel Gianluigi Donnarumma’s line of sight to Van Dijk was impaired, and Robertson was actually stood away from the goalkeeper’s view of the header, we’re giving Liverpool the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Nottingham Forest vs Man United

Manchester United’s visit to the City Ground in Gameweek 10 was filled with controversy. Bryan Mbeumo’s cross was headed clear by Nottingham Forest defender Nicolò Savona, and the ball bobbled towards the corner flag. At a first glance, it looked as if Savona managed to keep the ball in play after sprinting towards the by-line. However, the assistant referee disagreed and awarded a corner kick in United’s favour. The resulting corner kick produced Casemiro’s headed goal, putting the Red Devils 1-0 up. After closer examination, fans have insisted the ball did not go out of play, arguing the curvature of the ball kept it in on the pitch. Frankly, we hold the same view and feel it necessary to take one goal away from the visitors, handing Forest a 2-1 victory.

Brentford vs Liverpool

Brentford extended Liverpool’s miserable patch of form in the Premier League in gameweek 9, beating the champions 3-2 on Sunday evening. When the score was 2-1, the hosts were awarded a penalty after review, as Virgil van Dijk was deemed to have fouled Dango Outtara in the 18-yard box – after the original on-field decision was a free-kick. Igor Thiago converted from the spot, extending the Bees’ lead to two goals. However, the foul itself was dubbed as dubious by many fans, with two factors at play: whether van Dijk’s contact on Outtara warranted a foul in the first place, and if the foul was indeed inside the box. Given the context of both of those reasons, we’re chalking off the goal, and predicting the result as a 2-2 draw.

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