Wolves boss O'Neil confident of fair treatment from VAR

English Woman's Journal - Wolves boss O'Neil confident of fair treatment from VAR

SPORTS 16.08.2024

Wolves boss O'Neil confident of fair treatment from VAR / Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS - AFP

Wolves manager Gary O'Neil hopes his team will be treated "the same as everybody else" by VAR decision makers despite the club's criticism of the controversial system.

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The Molineux outfit pushed for a vote on scrapping VAR at the annual general meeting of the Premier League earlier this year.

Wolves had been on the wrong end of several contentious decisions, with officials from the club arguing VAR damaged the Premier League brand and was against the spirit of the game.

But the other 19 top-flight teams voted in favour or retaining VAR, ending Wolves' hopes of removing it.

Referees' chief Howard Webb has promised improvements to the system for the 2024/25 season, with O'Neil encouraged by those comments ahead of his side's season opener at Arsenal on Saturday.

"I'm not concerned at all," O'Neil told reporters on Friday. "I just judge everything by how it goes, so I have faith that they'll have worked to try and improve it.

"I think there's always a chance that you feel hard done by during football matches, and last year there were maybe a few in quick succession that made us feel like we were more hard done by than others."

"That can just be bad luck and the way it goes sometimes. This season, I fully expect us to be treated the same as everybody else.

"I expect it to be 100 percent fair and I do expect it to have improved from last season, so I have no concerns around VAR."

D.W.Robertson--EWJ

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English Woman's Journal - Wolves boss O'Neil confident of fair treatment from VAR