Nearly a decade after the video assistant referee was introduced, supporters inside stadiums remain largely uninformed about the reasoning behind contentious decisions, even as those watching on television are given far greater insight.
The issue was thrown into sharp focus during Manchester City's 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, where referee Michael Oliver awarded a goal to Erling Haaland following a VAR check involving Enzo Fernandez. Television viewers were able to follow the offside explanation in real time, but the 74,161 fans inside the stadium had no idea what had actually been reviewed.
A similar scenario played out during Crystal Palace's 3-2 defeat to Ipswich Town, when Chelsea loanee Axel Disasi was shown a red card for serious foul play. Disasi waited on the touchline for more than a minute as the VAR examined the incident, while supporters at Selhurst Park were left without any explanation of what was being discussed.
Since Howard Webb took charge of Premier League officiating in 2022, there has been a stated commitment to greater transparency, including the introduction of the Match Officials Mic'd Up programme, which reveals VAR conversations after matches. Webb previously oversaw a similar initiative in Major League Soccer, where the league became the first, in 2019, to release VAR audio publicly through a show called Inside VAR.
Despite these steps, no top European league currently broadcasts VAR audio live. According to reporting, Webb has been involved in a working group attempting to persuade football's lawmakers, the International Football Association Board (Ifab), to relax restrictions and allow live audio broadcasts. However, Ifab and FIFA have shown little willingness to move in that direction, citing concerns over global broadcast quality, added pressure on match officials, and potential damage to referees' credibility.
Ifab secretary and chief executive Lukus Brud addressed the subject in an interview several years ago, warning that broadcasting live audio could become "chaotic" given the number of voices involved in VAR discussions.
The closest football has come to live VAR audio remains a brief experiment during the 2020 MLS is Back Tournament, held after the Covid-19 shutdown, when audio was broadcast live throughout matches. The trial was seen as successful at the time, yet it has not been repeated in any competition since, in MLS or elsewhere.
The Premier League has introduced some innovations this season, including RefCam with live audio and published transcripts of discussions between referees and VAR officials. It was also among the first competitions to have referees publicly announce VAR outcomes inside stadiums. However, the Match Officials Mic'd Up show remains only a monthly feature, meaning major flashpoints—such as the Harry Maguire handball incident involving Manchester United against Ipswich, or a non-award of a penalty for Arsenal at Aston Villa—went unexplained for weeks.
Other leagues have taken different approaches. Spain's La Liga releases audio and video of subjective VAR interventions on social media within hours of matches finishing. Italy's Serie A, by contrast, discontinued its equivalent programme, Open VAR, last season due to the strain it placed on officials, while Germany's Bundesliga does not run a dedicated VAR show at all, only releasing clips when deemed necessary.
Even if regulations were eventually relaxed, live VAR audio would likely be limited to moments when the referee reviews a decision at the pitchside monitor, rather than during continuous play, to avoid disrupting broadcasts. Some leagues, such as Australia's A-League, already display footage from the referee's monitor on stadium screens during reviews, though without accompanying audio.
For now, supporters attending matches will continue to face a gap in understanding compared to those watching from home, with football's global governing bodies showing no clear timetable for change.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.