Following Norwich City’s controversial opening day loss to West Bromwich Albion last weekend, head coach Philippe Clement has named 81 countries where referees can use Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology to improve their decision-making processes.
Although the Belgians dominated possession and total shot count against the Baggies, they came up empty-handed in terms of points, as Aune Heggebo and Jimmy-Jay Morgan scored a quickfire double for the visitors before Mathias Kvistgaarden’s consolation goal.
However, the first of those goals, scored by Heggebo, looked to strike his hand despite Morgan’s initial cross passing an attempted clearance by Vladan Kovacevic.
Unsurprisingly, footage of the goal was widely shared on social media last weekend as a major talking point as the Championship returned, and while Clement prepares his side for an intriguing away match against Millwall, the 52-year-old is clearly disappointed by the lack of refereeing intervention that allowed the goal to stand.
Philippe Clement launches 81-country VAR diatribe following Norwich City vs West Brom incident.
West Brom confirmed on Thursday night that, while his goal against Norwich will stand, Heggebo has been suspended for two games, including the meeting against Burnley at The Hawthorns on Sunday lunchtime and Tuesday’s EFL Cup tie against Newcastle United.
Aune Heggebo Stats: Norwich City 1-2 West Brom.
Minutes Played: 90
Goals
1 xG
1.0: 3 shots, 31 touches in the penalty area.
3
Source: Fotmob.
Heggebo faced an unsuccessful misconduct charge, with the FA considering the 25-year-old to have broken rule E3.1 and declaring he was able to “successfully deceive a Match Official by handling the ball in a direct successful attempt to score a goal”.
In his press conference prior of a trip to The Den, Clement revealed: “I requested my analyst to research up which leagues in the world use VAR, which is why I have this big list.
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Leagues throughout the world that use VAR. “Albania, Algeria, Argentina, and so on,” he added.
The Norwich manager mentioned that all 81 countries on his list use VAR in their leagues.Some countries have never competed in the World Cup and now use VAR.”It’s madness to me that there is no VAR in the Championship,” the Norwich manager said. “This isn’t going to change (the situation).”It’s not like we’ll collectively determine whether every league uses VAR in three years.”
How social media has responded to Philippe Clement’s VAR tirade.
Clement’s reaction has provoked passionate reactions from Norwich and West Brom supporters, similar to when film of Heggebo’s Carrow Road strike was released.I love Big Phil, but we have to go on. You experience these kinds of setbacks in games, and you must overcome them.
One Canaries supporter expressed concern that VAR will negatively impact the championship.Another Norwich supporter responded, “I love him, but I’m over it.”Simple to solve. The fourth official has a screen. He receives one replay of each goal. If he senses a problem,
he summons the ref, who observes the situation and immediately notices the violation. Can only be used for goals and only if the fourth official suspects an issue after one replay,” said another supporter when asked how goals like Heggebo’s may be prevented in the future.
Another Norwich supporter agreed with Clement, saying, “I love this guy. If Big Phil wants VAR, give it to him. It simply needs to be used more effectively than it is currently, and only for obvious errors.”
However, one Albion fan responded quickly: “I strongly suggest Clement focuses on how his team got cut open and the Albion centre forward had a tap-in from 4 yards with no defender near him.”
Will we ever see VAR in the EFL Championship on a consistent basis?
VAR, of course, has divided opinion since its debut in English football in January 2018 for an FA Cup match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace, before being implemented in the Premier League beginning with the 2019/20 season.
However, it has been used in all EFL play-off finals since 2021/22, with notable moments including the decisions not to award Huddersfield Town two penalties against Nottingham Forest in May 2022, while Harrison Burrows saw a goal disallowed for Sheffield United in the 2025 final against Sunderland, which the Blades went on to lose 2-1.
Don Goodman, a Sky Sports analyst, exclusively told FLW: “It’s a big problem (whether the EFL should use VAR).
“It costs a fortune and at the minute, I would be confident that the (EFL) clubs would rather have the money at their disposal than what it would cost to implement VAR in the Championship and then in League One and Two further down the line.”
However, higher-ups have not ruled out the possibility of the EFL introducing the technology in the future, even if a more cost-effective alternative is used in the lesser leagues.
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