No subject divides opinion in football quite like VAR.
The past 24 hours has seen the controversial video technology front and centre of Premier League discourse following West Ham’s disallowed equaliser against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
The relegation-threatened Hammers thought they had pegged Arsenal back in the dying moments of their crunch clash at the London Stadium when Callum Wilson’s low driven strike crossed the line in the midst of a physical corner kick.
But an infringement on Gunners keeper David Raya was picked up by the video technology and the strike was ruled out, much to the fury of Hammers boss Nuno Espirito Santo.
The decision may have huge ramifications on the Premier League title race and relegation battle – with Arsenal five points ahead of chasing Manchester City with two games to go, while it leaves West Ham in the dreaded drop zone.
Man City would be in the driver’s seat for the Premier League title but for the intervention of VAR this season
Arsenal’s win at West Ham was marred by VAR controversy with the Gunners the beneficiaries
Now, statistics have revealed how this season’s Premier League table would look without the much-maligned technology.
And data experts at AceOdds have shown that Mikel Arteta’s side would be on five fewer points if VAR was not implemented in the Premier League. This means that while they would remain top of the table, their lead would be just one point and City would have a game in hand.
Manchester United would remain in third position on 65 points while Brighton and Bournemouth would gatecrash the remaining Champions League places with 60 points apiece.
Liverpool, in a stunning turn of events, would be down three positions in seventh place on 59 points, below Aston Villa on 60 points.
Chelsea, who are enduring a nightmare season, would be worse off without VAR and in 10th position on 47 points, but there would be no change to the bottom three with Wolves in 20th, Burnley in 19th and West Ham in 18th.
Tottenham, though, would be five points clear of the drop zone on 41 points, but are instead just one point above the bottom three with 37 points.
The new data comes after Daily Mail Sport revealed that the Hammers are investigating whether to log an official complaint with the PGMOL over their disallowed goal.
It is understood West Ham will ask to hear the VAR audio with insiders confirming to Daily Mail Sport that they are now in the process of deciding whether it is worth complaining to the PGMOL, though one senior source did concede the whole complaints process would be ‘pointless’, however.
The refereeing body, led by Howard Webb, are believed to think VAR Darren England and on field referee Chris Kavanagh made the correct call in a moment of high pressure. They took four minutes and 17 seconds to come to their conclusion together.
Some of the frustration surrounding the foul on Raya is to do with inconsistencies across the 2025-26 season with similar situations going unpunished.
Chelsea, for example, were denied a penalty away at Arsenal in March despite Raya hitting Joao Pedro with two hands while the striker was also being wrestled to the ground. Arteta’s side won that clash 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
