This video can not be played Highlights: Maguire shown red as Manchester United held at Bournemouth

Refereeing standards are "the worst we have seen for a long time" and "only getting worse" because of the use of the video assistant referee (VAR), says former Newcastle United and England striker Alan Shearer. The debate around the use of VAR continues to rage, with weekends often dominated by controversy around perceived incorrect officiating decisions in the Premier League.

"They [referees] are too reliant on it and it's affecting the standard of refereeing now, and it's not a good look," Shearer said on BBC Radio 5 Live. Shearer's comments come after VAR was again the story in Friday's 2-2 draw between Bournemouth and Manchester United. United have said they will make a formal complaint to referees' body Professional Game Match Officials Limited over what they feel was clear inconsistency in the decisions during the match at Vitality Stadium.

Harry Maguire was sent off for pulling back Evanilson inside the box as United led 2-1 with 10 minutes to go. But that came just 10 minutes after Amad Diallo was denied a penalty for a similar incident at the other end, while United had also earlier been awarded a penalty for what United boss Michael Carrick deemed to be a comparable foul on Matheus Cunha.

Long delays, irate managers and mixed messages - is VAR bad for game? The big VAR debate: with, without or change its scope? Carrick said it was the inconsistency that he found "baffling" and did not understand how the referee "can give one and not the other". Shearer agreed and said: "You should have given a penalty when you gave two like that. How on earth do you not give another one."

VAR has been in operation in the Premier League since the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign but, after another season of controversy, delayed decisions and confusion, its use has once again been called into question. Former Liverpool full-back Stephen Warnock said it is the "worst thing that has been introduced to the game". "I think it has ruined it. It's ruined the enjoyment in stadiums. I think it's ruined it for referees to officiate. I think that it's a little bit of a safety blanket every time they referee," he told Radio 5 Live.

"VAR isn't perfect, it isn't great, it makes mistakes and it's still subjective, which is a huge problem, and I just think it's a poor addition to the game." Earlier this week it was announced that Europe's top leagues have been summoned to a meeting with Uefa in the summer to discuss how VAR technology is being used. The summit of referee chiefs from the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 will discuss how to reset VAR to its intended interpretation of only intervening for the clearest of errors and not "microscopic interventions".

In 2024, Wolves submitted a resolution to the Premier League which triggered a vote on the continued use of VAR. The league claimed there would be 100 more incorrect refereeing decisions made per season if clubs voted to scrap the technology and clubs eventually voted in favour of keeping it. At the end of every season the Premier League's stakeholders - that's coaches, captains and fans, among others - are asked for their opinion on how the game is refereed. Last summer the high threshold for VAR intervention was supported by 80%.

Clubs may feel they have been wronged, as Manchester United were at Bournemouth. But they don't mention the times they benefited from this high threshold. Like the push by Leny Yoro before United scored at Fulham, or the penalty for Jaydee Canvot's hold on Cunha (which also led to a VAR red card), or Diogo Dalot's potential red-card challenge on Jeremy Doku. Clubs have selective memory when decisions go against them.

There have been fewer VAR interventions this season, but the accuracy has remained the same at 94%. PGMOL would probably say that shows more decisions are being made on the field rather than being left to VAR. The independent Key Match Incidents Panel results say that on-field accuracy has remained stable, at 86%, since 2023-24. Take that on face value and on-field standards have neither improved nor regressed.

English football's biggest problem is that it doesn't know what it wants. It doesn't like VAR getting involved in games. The Premier League has the lowest intervention rate in Europe, but then you get clubs saying it must intervene more when a decision doesn't go their way. Clubs are always unhappy when a decision goes against them. But they are strangely silent when they are the beneficiaries.

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