Gary O'Neil has backed Wolves’ bid to abolish VAR in its current form and claimed every Premier League manager has problems with the system.
The Molineux club issued a resolution earlier this week to remove VAR for the 2024-25 campaign and there could be a vote among Premier League clubs in June.
It seems highly unlikely that the motion would achieve the 70 per cent majority required to make a change but with supporters increasingly fed up of VAR, Wolves’ stance will put the spotlight on rivals.
‘It is good to start a discussion and let’s see how many teams want it and how many don’t,’ said O’Neil. ‘The ones that do, are they happy with it in its current form?
‘It has to evolve and I’d be astounded if we started next season in the form its in at the moment. Everyone would agree this season it hasn’t worked too well.
‘In its current state I’d be more than happy for it to be abolished. The way it is now, it hasn’t helped the experience for fans. I stand at Molineux once every two weeks and the fans’ mood is very clear. There is a real negative energy towards it.
‘There is still scope to improve it and it needs to be improved drastically but if we leave it as it is I would be a fan of getting rid of it.’
O’Neil conceded that VAR was probably here to stay but he hopes Wolves’ position on the technology will lead to improvements.
‘It’s really important (to stick up for match-going fans),’ he said. ‘Maybe there’s a side to the argument where people will see us as old-fashioned and I get all of that.
‘But the affect its had on going to matches is huge. What I hear from the fans every week is they’re not enjoying it as much. The club have raised this important issue. It will either go – which is probably unlikely – or it will get a lot better.’