Darren Cann: ‘We don’t referee differently with VAR’

Match officials do not referee matches any differently despite the “safety net” of video assistant referees, says retired Premier League official Darren Cann.

Cann, 56, retired this month after over 1,000 games as an assistant referee, including a record 579 in the Premier League.

The VAR system was introduced in the Premier League at the start of the 2019-20 season.

There is often a suggestion that referees do not make a decision on the pitch because they know VAR should make the right one.

“Not everybody likes VAR and I accept that view,” Cann told BBC Sport.

“But from a match official’s point of view, it is a really valuable tool.

“I would like to dispel a myth. People think we referee differently because there is VAR but nothing could be further from the truth.

“My mindset is to eradicate VAR from that 90 minutes by getting my decisions right. Our mindset is to make the right decision.

“If we do make a clear and obvious error we do have the safety net of VAR.”

Cann has welcomed the introduction of semi-automated offside, which came into the Premier League on the weekend of his final game.

The technology uses artificial intelligence and special cameras to make the judgement of tight offside calls quicker and easier.

“In previous seasons it could take up to 50 seconds just to draw the lines before they came to a decision,” said Cann.

“With semi-automated offside the lines are automatically drawn at the point where the ball is kicked. That speeds up the checks.

“It won’t affect the assistant referees on the pitch. They still make their calls. But it does speed up the checks.”

Cann’s biggest two games came in 2010 – the Champions League final and World Cup final.

“Before VAR I got an offside wrong in a Premier League game that still haunts me to this day,” said Cann.

“It was only half a yard and was one of those where a forward and defender cross over at high speed. I just got my timing wrong and flagged when I shouldn’t have.

“I lost concentration. That is 20 years ago and it still hurts.”