Credit: Imago

Richie Mills

Tue 17 March 2026 18:10, UK

Former Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa may have been ahead of the curve on the negative impact VAR is doing to elite football.

March has not been too kind to Daniel Farke’s relegation-threatened side when it comes to contentious decisions in the Premier League.

On 3 March, Leeds lost 1-0 at home to Sunderland, although the Elland Road outfit arguably should have been given a penalty for Luke O’Nien’s holding offence on Pascal Struijk.

And in Leeds’ goalless draw at Crystal Palace on Sunday, Gabriel Gudmundsson was shown a second yellow card after a lengthy delay that involved referee Thomas Bramall appearing to forget the Swede was on a caution.

Moreover, the decision was, arguably, very harsh.

In light of the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel ruling that Leeds should have been awarded a spotkick for that Sunderland incident, some past words of wisdom from ex-manager Bielsa appear to be more salient than ever.

VAR errors mount after Marcelo Bielsa predicts football’s ‘decline’

On Tuesday, the KMI Panel stated that there have now been 18 VAR errors logged this season, matching the total for the entire 2024-25 campaign.

Premier League fans are growing increasingly frustrated with the lengthy VAR delays, the inconsistent refereeing, and the fact that supporters cannot truly celebrate a goal anymore – for fear of it being chalked off.

Back in 2024, Uruguay manager Bielsa said football is declining, that money is making the sport less attractive, and VAR is harming the beautiful game. As time passes, these words keep getting reposted as disillusionment grows.

It is worth noting that VAR has increased the number of accurate decisions in games, particularly as there is a bigger team of officials and cameras to spot incidents the referee might miss.

Indeed, Leeds also benefitted on Sunday as Palace had a goal ruled out in the second half as Brennan Johnson was marginally offside.

But very few fans appear to be proponents of VAR right now. At present, the Football Supporters Association have a survey out on whether or not fans like it.

It may be safe to say that the majority won’t be a fan of it.

Leeds suffer big blow ahead of Brentford test

Leeds were able to keep the relegation zone to a three-point gap after their draw at Palace, while West Ham, Tottenham, and Nottingham Forest all failed to win.

The Whites missed a golden opportunity to score from the penalty spot, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed the target.

Conversely, they did hold on for a draw despite being down to 10 men for the second half.

Gudmundsson has been one of Leeds’ best players this season, with the summer signing more than proving himself at Premier League level.

He broke a lengthy run of not having a Leeds player sent off in the Premier League, with the 26-year-old now set to miss Saturday’s clash with Brentford.

Jayden Bogle is likely to come back into the starting XI as a right wing-back, while James Justin will switch to the opposite side of the pitch.

With eight games to go, Leeds need to pick up wins to boost their survival chances. And a victory over Europe-chasing Brentford will go a long way to achieving that goal.