Premier League supporters have delivered a clear verdict on VAR, and it echoes a frustration Celtic fans know well. A Football Supporters’ Association poll found 75% of 7,946 fans do not support VAR’s use, with complaints centred on delays, over-analysis, and a loss of enjoyment. Those findings have now been put directly in front of the authorities running the English game.
The scale of that opposition matters because it shifts the conversation away from isolated complaints and towards a wider rejection of how the technology is being used.
For Celtic supporters, the reaction will feel familiar rather than surprising, after recent VAR controversies that have impacted the Hoops still lay fresh in the fans’ minds this season.
Premier League fans deliver damning verdict on VAR. 75% of 7,946 fans polled by the Football Supporters’ Association “didn’t support the use of VAR”. Too long, too forensic, too much of a joy killer, fans say. Findings shared with Premier League and PGMO.
92% of fans surveyed…
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter)
March 29, 2026
Celtic frustration with VAR is no longer isolated
The noise emerging from England confirms that frustration with VAR is not confined to Celtic supporters or the Scottish Premiership.
When EPL fans describe the system as ‘too long’ and ‘too forensic’, it reflects a shared issue with how decisions are reached rather than the principle of accuracy itself.
• 75% of 7,946 fans did not support VAR
• Only 18% agreed VAR has improved refereeing accuracy
• 92% agreed VAR has removed the spontaneous joy of goal celebrations
• 82% strongly agreed
• 79% strongly disagreed that the match-going experience is better with VAR 85% of match-going fans strongly disagreed that VAR makes football more enjoyable
• 83% of TV viewers agreed with that view
• 67% strongly agreed they prefer watching football without VAR
That criticism goes further when the experience is labelled a ‘joy killer’, a phrase that speaks directly to what many Celtic supporters have felt during disrupted moments at Celtic Park.
It is not about rejecting technology outright, but about how it is used by the people in charge of it and how VAR is reshaping the rhythm of the game in ways that are increasingly difficult to defend.
Celtic fans now have evidence to back their stance
The significance of the poll lies in its scale, turning what was often dismissed as frustration into a measurable majority view.
With the findings now formally in front of those overseeing the English game, the debate moves beyond opinion and into pressure on those responsible for implementing VAR.
For Celtic supporters, that creates a clear sense of vindication as concerns that once felt local are now reflected at the highest level of the game.
The argument is no longer confined to individual incidents or club-specific grievances, it is backed by broad supporter sentiment across one of the world’s most visible leagues.
That shift matters because it reframes the conversation, moving it from whether fans are overreacting to whether the system itself is failing to deliver what it promised.
The Premier League backlash does not just mirror Celtic frustration, it reinforces it with evidence that is difficult to dismiss.
In that sense, the debate has changed, and Celtic supporters now find themselves on the side of a growing majority rather than a vocal minority.
The Premier League data does not solve the problem, but it strengthens the argument that VAR in its current form is damaging the matchday experience, a point Celtic supporters have been making for some time.
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