VAR MAD! Premier League followers waste 19 hours a season ready for video checks
The Premier League has accumulated more VAR delays than any other European league, with fans collectively spending over 1,100 minutes waiting for VAR decisions to be made
The Premier League stands as Europe’s most VAR-disrupted league – with VAR decisions triggering 19 hours of stoppages every season. Research examining data from the 2017-2025 campaigns reveals English supporters collectively have to wait 1,126 minutes – equivalent to nearly 12 complete matches – waiting for officials to scrutinise video footage.
The league has more interventions than the European average, with Spanish La Liga recording 1,086 minutes of wait time due to VAR. Italy’s Serie A supporters endured a total wait of 823 minutes, while Germany’s Bundesliga accumulated a total delay of 604 minutes, according to findings compiled by Snickers, in partnership with Opta.
This follows a controversial VAR ruling between Arsenal and West Ham, ruling out West Ham’s injury-time leveller which could prove pivotal for both the championship race and the relegation scrap.
To help fans deal with the frustration that comes with the agonising VAR, Snickers has teamed up with former Burnley manager Sean Dyche to launch a ‘VAR Spa,’ – a tongue-in-cheek mobile wellness experience to help calm supporters down.
A short film shows Dyche taking his no-nonsense style off the touchline and into everyday settings – from a family living room to a laundrette and a café – inviting fans into the van, which acts as a travelling ‘relief unit’ for anyone who is hangry and losing patience during VAR checks.
Sean Dyche said: “I’ve been around football long enough to know a long VAR check can test anybody’s patience.
“The game stops, everyone starts overthinking it, hunger kicks in and suddenly a five-second decision feels like it’s lasting all afternoon.”
Everton, Brentford and Fulham are the clubs most likely to feel that VAR is working against them. However, Arsenal is statistically the club most affected by VAR in Europe, with 78 recorded incidents and 80 minutes of delays since VAR was introduced into the Premier League.
They were followed by West Ham (68 VAR incidents) and Brighton and Hove Albion (60 VAR incidents). In fact, seven of the top 10 affected clubs across Europe hail from the Premier League.
More than one in three fans (36%) believe VAR has made watching the ‘beautiful game’ less enjoyable, while 37% think it’s slowed down football too much as the majority of fans believe there should be time limits on interventions.
Delia Francoise Lendais-Metral, from Snickers, said: “Every footy fan knows the feeling when a VAR check drags on forever.
“Patience goes, tempers fray and hunger only makes it worse, because you’re not you when you’re hungry.
“We can’t speed up VAR, but we can help fans cope with the wait that comes with it and who better to take that message to the masses with the VAR spa than Sean Dyche.”
