There has been plenty of discussion about refereeing and VAR over the years.
But this statistic from last season really caught my attention.
According to Squawka’s final VAR table for the 2025/26 Premier League season, Liverpool had the joint-worst differential in the entire league at -5.
The Reds had three VAR errors go in their favour and eight go against them.
That is a difference of five decisions.
And when you look at the clubs at the opposite end of the table, it becomes even more interesting.
Liverpool were among the biggest losers
Liverpool weren’t the only club to finish badly in the figures — Crystal Palace also had a -5 differential.
But the fact Liverpool had eight errors go against them is certainly eye-catching.
Manchester United actually had more errors against them with nine, but they also had six go in their favour, leaving them on -3.
Liverpool?
Three for.
Eight against.
-5.
That doesn’t automatically mean Liverpool were “cheated”.
It doesn’t prove referees or VAR officials deliberately favoured other clubs.
But it does show that, according to Squawka’s assessment of controversial VAR decisions, Liverpool were consistently on the wrong side of them.
👀 And look at the clubs who benefited most
This is where the statistic gets even more interesting.
The five clubs with the best VAR differentials were:
1. Bournemouth +6
2. Arsenal +3
3. Chelsea +3
4. Wolves +3
5. West Ham +2
Bournemouth stand out massively.
They finished the season with seven VAR errors going in their favour and just one against them, giving them a remarkable +6 differential.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Wolves were all on +3, while West Ham finished +2.
Again, that doesn’t mean those clubs received favourable treatment.
It simply shows how differently the VAR decisions fell across the season.
And then there is the northern clubs statistic
This is the part that will really get people talking.
Of the 10 clubs with the worst VAR differentials, seven were northern clubs.
Liverpool were -5.
Crystal Palace were -5.
Manchester United were -3.
Tottenham were -3.
Brentford were -3.
Newcastle were -2.
Everton were -2.
That’s a remarkable spread.
And considering how much football is decided by tiny margins these days, five or six major VAR decisions can have a genuine impact on a season.
Liverpool supporters have every right to question consistency
This is where I think Liverpool fans are justified in being frustrated.
We’ve seen so many controversial decisions over the years that supporters naturally start asking whether there is consistency from one match to another.
And that’s really the issue for me.
I’m not interested in claiming that referees are deliberately against Liverpool.
That’s a massive accusation and there simply isn’t evidence to prove it.
But I do want to see greater consistency.
If something is a foul in one penalty area, it should be a foul in the other.
If a referee is sent to the monitor for one incident, why isn’t another similar incident treated the same way?
That’s where confidence in VAR starts to disappear.
The problem is that VAR was supposed to fix this
Remember why VAR was introduced.
The idea was that obvious mistakes could be corrected.
Instead, we still regularly see supporters completely baffled by decisions even after the referee has had the opportunity to watch the incident again.
And sometimes the explanation makes the situation even more confusing.
Squawka’s table itself is based on decisions its followers voted on as controversial VAR calls, so these figures should be treated as an assessment of perceived errors rather than an official Premier League measure of refereeing bias.
That’s an important distinction.
But it doesn’t make the numbers any less interesting.
Liverpool can’t keep accepting this
Liverpool have had some enormous VAR controversies over the years.
From the infamous Luis Díaz offside decision against Tottenham to countless penalty and red-card debates, supporters have become increasingly suspicious whenever something controversial happens.
And last season’s numbers certainly won’t calm those concerns.
Liverpool were -5.
Bournemouth were +6.
That’s an 11-decision swing between the two clubs in this particular measure.
Nobody is suggesting that VAR handed Bournemouth their season or cost Liverpool theirs.
Football isn’t that simple.
But when margins are so fine, these decisions matter.
We don’t need conspiracies — we need consistency
That’s ultimately my view.
I don’t believe Liverpool supporters need to start claiming there is some grand conspiracy against the club.
What we need is something much simpler.
Consistency.
The same standards for every club.
The same interpretation of handball.
The same threshold for penalties.
The same approach to dangerous tackles.
And, most importantly, VAR officials who are prepared to intervene when something has clearly gone wrong.
Because when one club finishes +6 and another finishes -5, supporters are inevitably going to look at the numbers and ask questions.
And Liverpool fans certainly have the right to ask them.
Five decisions might not sound like much.
But over a 38-game Premier League season, five decisions can feel enormous.
And when Liverpool were the club with the joint-worst VAR differential in the league last season…
You can understand why supporters are still frustrated.
Jamie (The Kopite View)
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