Renee Slegers, who recently took the head coaching position at Arsenal Women, is a vocal advocate for introducing VAR technology to the Women’s Super League. Her request follows after an emotionally charged draw against Chelsea. The lack of VAR in this match led to heated discussions on social media about the need for more fair and accurate officiating of women’s football. This conversation surged, particularly at critical points throughout the 2021 season.
After the match, Slegers made an impassioned case for VAR. Her team was dismayed by the last minute, important decisions taken by the convenors. During the later stages of the game, she received a booking for her visible dissatisfaction with the officiating, underscoring her passion for achieving fairness in the league. This episode was the second time Slegers advocated for VAR in a game involving Chelsea. Her repeated pleas make clear that she has long been concerned about the standards of officiating.
In a post-match interview, Slegers stated, “It’s fine margins, so certain decisions become really big decisions. That’s out of our hands. If you asked me today whether or not I support the implementation of VAR, I would tell you that I do. She went deeper into her frustrations on a non-call for a handball during the game. “You watch it back – I’ve only seen it from one angle, and it doesn’t look like a handball. That’s frustrating, of course,” she added.
The absence of VAR in this game highlighted a glaring double-standard in women’s football. This has been a developing crisis of submarines that is long overdue for serious action. Hayes, who was Chelsea boss at the time, lobbied hard for the introduction of VAR back in 2021. Unfortunately, the Football Association rejected her request. The refusal has sent shockwaves across the sport as many wondered if the proper backing was there for doing the job well on the world’s biggest stage.
To FIFA’s credit, they’ve developed a ‘VAR Light’ system intended for competitions without the budget to implement a full-blown VAR operation. This new system only uses four cameras, matching the bare minimum setup that is currently in place for all WSL games. The eventual adoption of such a system would make refereeing decisions more consistent and therefore more accurate throughout the league.
Izzy Christiansen, another influential voice in women’s football, agreed with Slegers, suggesting the impact of officiating is influencing the league’s results. She remarked, “The officials today have had a huge impact on Arsenal’s ability to win the title this season.” Christiansen said to achieve fairness, it is important that VAR is applied uniformly across the league and throughout the season.
The competitiveness and stakes are even higher in the WSL, as can be seen with the repercussions from last week’s high-profile Arsenal vs. Chelsea draw. Without the intervention of VAR, Arsenal would have walked away with three points. This would have reduced the deficit to only two points off the league leaders. In addition, Chelsea’s remarkable 32-game unbeaten streak would have come to an end if VAR were used properly.
Slegers pointed out that “there’s more and more at stake in the WSL,” referencing not only top-tier matches but those involving relegation battles and everything in between. The increased stakes and drama of every matchday only strengthen her case for bringing VAR to North America.
VARSlegers has been an outspoken supporter of VAR. She hasn’t been seen to truly lead any organized movement to bring this technology to the world of women’s game in recent times. Her comments reflect a growing concern among coaches and players alike regarding whether current officiating standards can keep pace with the evolving competitive landscape of women’s football.
Rachel Corsie, a highly regarded player in the league and one of the more respected players overall, called out refereeing decisions. If you’re asking me my wishlist, there’s stuff which would be higher up the list than VAR. I think on a lot of these decisions, you’d just think the referee would have to get those correct,” she said.
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