Howard Webb reaches agreement on major VAR decision set to impact Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham

PGMOL chief Howard Webb and Mike Dean have reached an agreement that will see the VAR retire ahead of the 2023/24 campaign

Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham will all be impacted by Mike Dean’s decision to step down from VAR duty which closes the curtain on 28 years in the game. VAR was rightfully criticised on numerous occasions during the 2022/23 season with numerous errors occurring most weeks in the Premier League.

The PGMOL appointed Howard Webb as its first chief refereeing officer in August 2022 in an attempt to improve the current level of VAR operation at the elite level domestically.

Despite this, several mistakes were still made with Ivan Toney’s goal against Arsenal for Brentford, the decision not to award Chelsea a penalty against West Ham for a Tomas Soucek handball and Brighton’s Pervis Estupinan seeing his goal wrongfully disallowed against Crystal Palace just some of the incidents facing significant scrutiny.

Now, a significant decision has been made ahead of the new campaign kicking off in less than a month with The Telegraph revealing Dean has reached an agreement with boss Webb to step down from his Stockley Park role after a season where he was found to be unsuited to VAR duties.

Dean retired as an on-pitch official last summer which resulted in him becoming a full-time VAR operator for the 2022/23 season. During his near three-decade spell in the game, Dean has provided some viral and memorable moments including his interaction with Marouane Fellaini and nonchalant yellow card delivery.

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