VAR is the most contentious topic in sport.
Following West Ham’s disallowed equaliser against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, the contentious video technology has dominated Premier League conversation for the past 24 hours.
In the last seconds of their crucial match at the London Stadium, Callum Wilson’s low driven strike in the middle of a violent corner kick gave the relegation-threatened Hammers the impression that they had pegged Arsenal back.
To the anger of Hammers manager Nuno Espirito Santo, however, the strike was disallowed after the video technology detected an infraction by Gunners custodian David Raya.
With two games remaining, Arsenal is five points clear of chasing Manchester City, while West Ham is in the dreaded drop zone. This decision might have a significant impact on the Premier League title race and relegation struggle.
Without VAR’s involvement this season, Man City would have been leading the Premier League.
VAR controversy disrupted Arsenal’s victory over West Ham, with the Gunners emerging victorious.
The Premier League table for this season would now appear without the much-maligned technology, according to data.
Additionally, Mikel Arteta’s team would have five fewer points if VAR had not been introduced in the Premier League, according to statistical specialists at AceOdds. This implies that even though they would still be at the top of the table, City would still have a game in hand and their lead would only be one point.
Brighton and Bournemouth would dominate the remaining Champions League spots with 60 points apiece, while Manchester United would stay in third place with 65 points.
In a surprising turn of circumstances, Liverpool would now be in seventh place with 59 points, three spots lower than Aston Villa with 60.
Without VAR, Chelsea, who are having a terrible season, would be in 10th place with 47 points, but the bottom three—Wolves in 20th, Burnley in 19th, and West Ham in 18th—would be unchanged.
Despite being just one point above the bottom three with 37 points, Tottenham would be five points clear of the drop zone with 41 points.
The fresh information follows Daily Mail Sport’s revelation that the Hammers are considering filing a formal complaint with the PGMOL on their goal that was disallowed.
Group1. Arsenal | PLD 36 | P74
- Man City | PLD 35 | P73
- Manchester United | PLD 36 | P65
- Brighton | PLD 36 | P60
- Bournemouth | PLD 36 | P60
- Aston Villa | PLD 36 | P60
- Liverpool | PLD 36 | P59
- Everton | PLD 36 | P51
- Fulham | PLD 36 | P48
- Chelsea | PLD 36 | P47
- Brentford | PLD 36 | P47
- Newcastle | PLD 36 | P445
- Leeds | PLD 35 | P44
- Sunderland | PLD 36 | P42
- Tottenham | PLD 35 | P41
- Crystal Palace | PLD 35 | P40
- Nottingham Forest | PLD 36 | P37
- West Ham | PLD 36 | P36
- Burnley | PLD 36 | P24
- Wolves | PLD 36 | P20
Motion
Not a single
Not a single
Not a single
Three up
Up one
One down
Three down
Up two
Up two
One down
Three down
Up one
Three up
Two down
Up two
Two down
Two down, none
None at all
Although one senior source acknowledged that the entire complaints procedure would be “pointless,” it is believed that West Ham will request to hear the VAR audio. Insiders confirmed to Daily Mail Sport that they are currently determining whether it is worthwhile to file a complaint with the PGMOL.
According to the refereeing authority, which is headed by Howard Webb, on-field referee Chris Kavanagh and VAR Darren England made the right decision under duress. It took them four minutes and seventeen seconds to reach a consensus.
The fact that similar incidents went unpunished during the 2025–26 season is partly to blame for the annoyance around Raya’s foul.
For instance, Raya struck Joao Pedro with two hands while the striker was being pulled to the ground, yet Chelsea was refused a penalty away at Arsenal in March. At the Emirates Stadium, Arteta’s team prevailed 2-1.
