MARK CLATTENBURG: Euro 2020 showed the way forward for VAR... and now this Premier League season will be all the better for it 

Euro 2020 showed the way forward with the use of VAR. Thankfully, the Premier League is set to follow that example.

I have always maintained that VAR would take time to evolve and I hope that this season we will see a system that attracts far less controversy.

That will be achieved instantly by the new interpretation of handball and offside decisions.

Mike Riley, the PGMOL manager, has confirmed there will be greater tolerance with marginal offside calls.

What a relief that will be to supporters — those toenail and armpit offsides were not in the spirit of the game.

Last season the Premier League used one millimetre lines to determine offside decisions. Now, like in the Euros, thicker lines will be used and, if the defensive and attacking lines are touching, it will be deemed onside. It is said this new method would have saved 19 disallowed goals last season.

The benefit of doubt has been given back to the attacking team and that is what everyone wants to see. At times, it felt like VAR was looking for a reason to disallow goals.

That leads us to handball. What a mess this law has been over the past couple of seasons. Now, though, it has been tweaked to give the advantage back to the attacker.

Accidental handballs in the build-up to a goal will no longer be penalised and goals will only be disallowed when a handball leads directly to the ball going into the net or immediately before a player scores. 

For example, when West Ham’s Declan Rice accidentally handled before playing in Robert Snodgrass for a late equaliser that was disallowed at Sheffield United, that goal will now stand. 

There will still be inconsistencies and controversy because we cannot forget that human beings are operating the system. But I certainly think the frustration around offside and handball will be eased significantly. 

As for the more subjective calls such as fouls inside the area, I just hope we see referees consulting their pitchside monitor more than in recent seasons.

The Euros were good in that, more often than not, the team of officials stuck with the referee’s onfield call. That is what we need to get back to in the Premier League — the referee making decisions and being in control of the game. VAR should be a back-up to help the referee, not to referee the game itself.

This season will also see the introduction of four new referees into the Premier League.

Among them is the Australian Jarred Gillett, and I rate him highly. But the Premier League needs to blood younger referees because the likes of Mike Dean, Martin Atkinson and Andre Marriner will be retiring in the coming years. 

That loss can be negated with the help of VAR, because it should make refereeing easier. Let’s hope we see proof of that this season.