England legend Fara Williams has explained why the WSL shouldn’t start using VAR, despite controversial decisions on matchday eight.
Arsenal felt hard done by against Chelsea with a ‘phantom handball’ ruling out what would have been an early equaliser.
Fara Williams: WSL ‘doesn’t need VAR’
While Gunners boss Renee Slegers campaigned for VAR to be introduced in the WSL after the draw, former Lioness Fara Williams disagrees with that opinion.
“When decisions go for you, you’re happy that VAR isn’t there but when they go against you, you want it there. I think there’s a lot more in our game that needs to be introduced before we start to think about bringing in VAR, which costs millions of pounds to install.
“I think that structurally there’s a lot more that can be invested in the women’s game before the use of VAR. I’m personally not a fan of VAR anyway. More often than not, the percentages show that decisions are more correct following the introduction of VAR, but there’s still a lot of debate around it in the men’s game.”
Although there is still plenty of controversy surrounding the use of VAR, the technology does tend to fix errors made by referees.
WATCH: Stina Blackenstuius scores controversial disallowed goal
Arsenal robbed. How did they disallow this Blackstenius goal? For what exactly pic.twitter.com/K0Rr3OoDP0
— Arsenal Team (@_ArsenalTeam) November 8, 2025
“We always want the referees to be perfect and make perfect decisions, but they are humans who make errors, and you have to consider that as well.” Williams continued.
“Players and managers all make mistakes, but we’re not as scrutinised as referees. I can understand why Arsenal boss Renee Slegers would want the introduction of VAR after the decisions over the weekend, because it can feel quite harsh at times.”
The mistake in Arsenal vs Chelsea was even more apparent due to the magnitude of the game.
If the Gunners had their phantom goal allowed against the reigning WSL champions then they would have won the game and closed the gap to just one point behind Chelsea.
The win would have also ended Sonia Bompastor’s unbeaten record in England since she arrived in London last year.
