Jewish peer takes senior role on football oversight body

A top Jewish barrister is to dive head-first into the debate around football’s controversial VAR technology after his appointment to a body that oversees it.

Lord David Wolfson KC, who served as a junior minister under Boris Johnson before resigning over over Partygate scandal, said on Wednesday that he had been made an independent commissioner at the Football Regulatory Authority (FRA).

The introduction of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology allows certain incidents to be reviewed immediately after they occur by a team reviewing footage and communicating with the referee on the pitch.

This means that decisions on such things as goals, penalties, or red cards (sending a player off) can be made with the benefit of other viewing angles, with the idea being to help the referee make the right decision.

However, it’s introduction has caused as much controversy as the technology was meant to have avoided. Players, managers, owners, and fans have all complained about the technology’s application, in particular the consistency of its use.

Wolfson’s tenure is likely to include calls for an independent regulator for English football established by an Act of Parliament, after lobbying through the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Football Supporters.