The existence of video assistant referees (VAR) can be maddening enough to plunge Premier League managers into existential crises.
During his endgame as Tottenham Hotspur boss, Ange Postecoglou was so baffled by the continued presence of VAR that he questioned the spirit of human beings on a molecular level. “I just thought we had a bit more about us as a race in terms of fighting against things that derail the core of what we believe in.”
Ransacking Stockley Park may not be on the cards any time soon, but we can still envisage a Postecoglou ideal, a world without VAR, by suspending a bit of disbelief.
They say that refereeing decisions even themselves out over the course of a season but, as we approach the halfway stage of the campaign, some sides are going to require an almighty swing in fortune to find themselves on a level playing field when it comes to VAR calls.
Here is how the Premier League table would look if Postecoglou’s pleas had been answered and the VAR overrulers had themselves been dethroned.
How 2025–26 Premier League Table Would Look Without VAR
The most obvious alteration to the table’s complexion naturally comes at its summit. Arsenal owe their two-point cushion over Manchester City to a favourable series of VAR calls against Everton as recently as last weekend.
How it took an intervention from the VAR to spot Jake O’Brien’s attempted volleyball spike at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday night is a question for another day—and one referee Sam Barrott will not want to answer. Viktor Gyökeres converted the subsequent spot kick to secure Arsenal all three points and take them back above City this Christmas.
Everton had a strong penalty appeal of their own overlooked by every official associated with the fixture to preserve Arsenal’s slender advantage. However, sitting second at Christmas may not have been so unwanted for the Gunners. The north London outfit have topped the table on turkey day in four previous Premier League seasons and failed to win the title on each occasion. The last time Arsenal claimed first place on Dec. 25 and at the end of May was the 1947–48 campaign.
| Position / Team | Points | Position Change Compared to Actual Table |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Man City | 37 | 1 Up |
| 2. Arsenal | 37 | 1 Down |
| 3. Aston Villa | 34 | — |
| 4. Liverpool | 32 | 1 Up |
| 5. Brighton | 26 | 4 Up |
| 6. Man Utd | 26 | 1 Up |
| 7. Bournemouth | 26 | 8 Up |
| 8. Chelsea | 25 | 4 Down |
| 9. Sunderland | 25 | 3 Down |
| 10. Fulham | 25 | 3 Up |
| 11. Everton | 25 | 1 Down |
| 12. Tottenham | 24 | 2 Up |
| 13. Brentford | 24 | 1 Down |
| 14. Crystal Palace | 24 | 6 Down |
| 15. Newcastle | 22 | 4 Down |
| 16. Leeds | 18 | — |
| 17. Nottingham Forest | 18 | — |
| 18. West Ham | 13 | — |
| 19. Burnley | 11 | — |
| 20. Wolves | 2 | — |
Aston Villa’s prodigious rise owes more to Unai Emery’s managerial majesty (and a healthy xG over-performance) than refereeing decisions. Liverpool, by contrast, would be three points and one place better off without VAR.
The Reds have been burned by two penalties awarded to the opposition. Brentford had a free kick dubiously upgraded by the Stockley Park officials in October which ultimately decided a 3–2 defeat, while the first of Leeds United’s goals in a bonkers 3–3 turnaround earlier this month came from a spot kick handed out by VAR.
Manchester United’s campaign has been riddled with VAR penalties—both for and against the Red Devils. Ruben Amorim’s outfit enjoyed and endured each sides of the fickle officiating fates during a 3–2 win over Burnley in August. Sunderland had a spot kick turned down at Old Trafford before United were given a penalty by VAR during this month’s victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
None of these decisions would have affected the result in any of these matches, yet United still stand to climb one place in a VAR-less table given the shifts in fortunes of those around them.
Biggest Winners From VAR
The London duo of Chelsea and Crystal Palace are the most blatant beneficiaries of VAR thus far this season.
Ironically enough, the Blues began their campaign with a favourable VAR decision at the expense of Palace. Eberechi Eze’s crisp free kick was retrospectively ruled out after it was shown that Marc Guéhi had moved within one metre of the wall. This would be the first of two 0–0 draws Chelsea have earned this season thanks to the opposition having the game’s only “goal” chalked off.
Earlier this month, Bournemouth’s sought-after Antoine Semenyo had an opener against Chelsea ruled out after it was judged than his teammate Evanilson had strayed marginally offside. There was also the VAR-riddled 2–0 win over Fulham which, in another world, could have resulted in a 1–1 draw without distant intervention. Stripped of those extra four points, Chelsea would find themselves eighth rather than fourth.
Palace stand to fall even further, dropping from eighth in the real table down to 14th after a string of favourable decisions. The first of Jean-Philippe Mateta’s three goals in a bonkers 3–3 draw with Bournemouth in October was only given after a VAR review found him to be onside. That intervention saved the Eagles a point, while the decision to disallow Emile Smith-Rowe’s tap-in ensured that Palace emerged with a 2–1 win (rather than a 2–2 draw) against Fulham in December.
Biggest Losers From VAR
It’s little surprise that 80% of Bournemouth fans recently polled by The Athletic would like to see the abolition of VAR. Without these slaves to the screen, the Cherries would be up in seventh rather than skulking around the relegation zone in 15th.
Andoni Iraola’s side have been robbed of two wins by VAR: the 3–3 draw with Palace in October thanks to Mateta’s retroactively awarded opener and this month’s goalless stalemate against Chelsea, which wouldn’t have been much of a stalemate had VAR not found Evanilson to be offside.
Iraola was putting it mildly when he recently moaned: “We have been very affected by refereeing decisions.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2025–26 Premier League Table Without VAR on Christmas Day.
