Crystal Palace fans brand VAR 'failed experiment' as they promise more protests against technology

Getty Images
Tom Dutton11 January 2020

Crystal Palace’s Holmesdale Fanatics supporter group have called on the Premier League to end VAR, branding its introduction a “failed experiment”.

During the first half of Palace’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Saturday, the Ultras unfurled a banner which read: "Killing the passion, killing the atmosphere, killing the game, end VAR now.”

Chants of “f*** VAR” rung around Selhurst Park from both home and away supporters as the banner was displayed by fans in Palace’s Holmesdale Road stand.

Palace have been awarded three goals as a result of decisions overturned by VAR this season, but the Ultras group spelt out prior to kick-off that their protest was not inspired by individual decisions going for or against the Eagles.

A message handed out to fans said: “Today’s banners are the beginning of a campaign to remove VAR from our football stadiums.

“This technology kills the joy of scoring and again puts the armchair fan sat in front of his TV before us, the loyal fans who turn up at the stadium every week.”

“During the game the banners will be displayed brining more attention to this already contentious issue. When the banners are displayed chants of ‘it’s not football anymore’ and ‘f*** VAR’ will centre this display, and raise the issue again on a national scale.”

In Pictures | Crystal Palace vs Arsenal | 11/01/2020

1/26

“Let’s end this failed experiment now.”

Palace benefited as a direct result of VAR later in the game as Arsenal were reduced to 10 men when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw his yellow card upgraded to a red following a studs-up foul on Max Meyer.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in