VAR? Nah. Here’s How the 2025/26 Premier League Really Looks Without the Blunders

Remember the days before all the lines, angles and stoppages? Since VAR landed in 2019/20 to tidy up the “clear and obvious”, we’ve somehow had more rows, not fewer. So what happens if you take the contentious calls out of the 2025/26 season and play it straight? Using Squawka’s fan-voted ledger of this season’s VAR “errors” — and assuming any should-be penalties are tucked away — here’s the no-nonsense table the managers would be staring at on the wall.

If you’re tracking the mood swings and the markets as the table twists, you’ll want an eye on the best betting sites as this alternate reality makes for some tasty swings in the mid‑table.

Method in the madness

Squawka’s followers tallied which big calls went for and against each club, then re-built the table minus those mistakes. No conspiracy theories, just a hypothetical clean-up of the most disputed moments across goals, pens, reds and mistaken identity. File it under thought experiment — but a revealing one.

The drop: same faces, same trouble

Bottom of the lot? Still Wolverhampton Wanderers. Even with three errors helping them, they’d remain 20th on 8 points after 24 games — a wretched return. Burnley under Scott Parker also stay rooted in 19th, their single favourable error not moving the needle from 14 points. West Ham? One for, one against, and still marooned in 18th on 22 points. The Hammers’ reset hasn’t shifted the dial.

Leeds United are the first movers: they slide into 17th (24 points) when the cushions come off, after one decision went their way and none against. Nottingham Forest climb to 16th (25 points) on the same tally but a better shake from the officials’ room. Tottenham Hotspur — Europa League holders under Thomas Frank yet spluttering domestically — would sit 15th on 30, despite four calls against and three in their favour. That’s a club crying out for rhythm, not replays.

Mid-table shuffle: Cherries clipped, Eagles lifted

Bournemouth have been among the biggest beneficiaries: four in their favour and none against in real time. Strip those away and Andoni Iraola’s side sink to 14th (30 points). Crystal Palace, battered by four errors against them, actually get a bump to 13th (30), a reminder their FA Cup glow-up wasn’t built on luck alone. Brighton & Hove Albion — who’ve ridden three in their favour and two against — nudge up to 12th (31). And yes, the Seagulls’ boss Fabian Hürzeler is still the youngest permanent gaffer in Premier League history at 31. Everton, meanwhile, have taken four in the chops but end up 11th (32) — a grumble rather than a grievance.

European hopefuls: Bees dip, Magpies mend

Keith Andrews’ Brentford tumble from the lofty heights, landing 10th on 35 points once the dust is cleaned off — four against, two for, and a cold splash of reality. Newcastle United, who’ve had five go against them (including that Nick Woltemade penalty shout that would’ve swung two points versus Bournemouth), climb to 9th on 36. Fulham rise to 8th on 36, their ledger reading two for, three against — and yes, the chalking off of 18-year-old Josh King’s strike against Chelsea still sticks in the throat. Newly returned Sunderland, coached by Régis Le Bris, sit a sparkling 7th on 38; give them the penalty they should’ve had against Everton and the Black Cats look even more legit.

Arne Slot’s Liverpool remain 6th on 39 even after five calls against — the headliner being Virgil van Dijk’s wiped equaliser versus City. Chelsea, who’ve enjoyed the most favours this term (six in their column, including Eberechi Eze’s disallowed effort), still sit 5th on 41 in the cleansed table — intriguingly with a point more once you adjust the swings.

The business end: unchanged elite

Manchester United’s topsy-turvy campaign — Ruben Amorim in, Amorim out, Michael Carrick steadying the tiller — holds firm in 4th on 43. They’ve been on the wrong end of six alleged errors, the joint-high for any club’s “against” column, including the non-award for Amad against Brighton. Aston Villa remain 3rd on 44, and while five breaks have favoured Unai Emery’s men, their football has earned the pedestal.

Manchester City are still 2nd on 47, chasing but adrift. And Arsenal keep the summit on 53 — relentless, ruthless, and unaffected by the clean-up. Top four unchanged, then: Arsenal 53, Man City 47, Aston Villa 44, Man United 43 — proof that even when you strip out the VAR noise, class tells at the sharp end.

What it tells us

Beyond the uproar, the table’s spine survives. The real churn is mid-table: Bournemouth’s cushion thin, Palace and Newcastle owed a break, and Sunderland’s rise no fairy tale. Spurs’ numbers scream inconsistency, not injustice. As for the extremes, Wolves and Burnley need performances, not paranoia.

Chelsea boast the most “in favour” calls (six), while Manchester United suffer the most “against” (six) — two very different rides through the video maze. But the title race? Still a three-way sprint, and VAR or no VAR, Arsenal and City are dictating the tempo.

All figures sourced from Squawka’s fan-voted audit and correct as of 05/02/2026.