The Premier League is the only major league in Europe for which no official has been selected to serve as a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) at this year’s World Cup in Qatar.
PGMOL, the English Premier League’s overseas refereeing body, has been criticized for the way it has implemented VAR technology over the past three seasons. And now FIFA, which controls the VAR protocol globally, has sent a clear message by rejecting the league for its main tournament.
World Cup finals schedule
FIFA named Stuart Atwell to its long list last year, but he was left out when The final list of 24 video match referees has been revealed Thursday. Atwell and Chris Kavanagh represented the Premier League at Euro 2020 after being selected by UEFA.
Spain’s LaLiga has three VAR officials, along with two each from Italy’s Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1. VAR from the Netherlands and Poland complement the 11 European officials selected by the world football’s governing body.
The Premier League has had midfield success, as the only European league in which two male referees have been appointed. Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor will travel to Qatar, along with a team of four assistant referees to work with.
Meanwhile, women referees will take charge of matches at the men’s World Cup for the first time, and they include three referees alongside Oliver and Taylor on FIFA’s list of 36 key officials. French referee Stephanie Frappart, Rwandan Salema Mukansanga and Japanese Yoshimi Yamashita will travel to Qatar.
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