Norway’s pro football clubs have made a big move by voting to get rid of VAR which might change how other countries think about it too. This shows how many people are unhappy with how VAR messes up the game’s flow and decisions. The Norwegian Football Association is going to make their final choice in March 2025.
- 19 out of 32 top-flight clubs voted to scrap VAR.
- Fans being really mad and VAR not working great led to this.
- The final ruling by the Norwegian Football Association is going to happen in March 2025.
Norway’s Bold Move Against VAR
Norwegian football could make history by being the first country to get rid of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system. When they voted 19 out of 32 top teams said they want it gone. The main reason is fans are super angry and think the system doesn’t work right. Even though VAR was supposed to help refs make better calls people say it just makes games stop too much and takes too long.
🔺NEW: Norway has taken a big step towards becoming the first country to scrap VAR after a majority of professional clubs voted in favour of dropping the system
Full story by @martynziegler 🔽
https://t.co/WXUP9aLtyt
— Times Sport (@TimesSport)
January 22, 2025
Fans and Clubs Push Back Against VAR
It’s pretty clear fans and clubs are fed up with VAR, lots of them saying it hasn’t really fixed bad calls like it was supposed to. Actually it’s created new problems like refs not being consistent and games getting stopped all the time which makes them less fun to watch. Fan groups in Norway are really happy about the vote they think it’s good for keeping football the way it should be. Other leagues are watching real close to see what happens cause they might want to do the same thing.
What This Means for Players Managers and Everyone Else in Football
Taking VAR out of Norwegian football could change a lot of things for players and managers. Players might get to play without stopping so much but they’ll have to deal with tough calls without any video backup. Managers might need to think different about how they handle arguments and keep their players calm when calls go wrong. Looking at the bigger picture Norway getting rid of VAR could start new talks about whether technology is good or bad for football and if it makes the game better or worse.
For more info about what happens when VAR goes away check out: