Ipswich CEO Mark Ashton Expresses Confusion Over VAR Application

Ipswich Town chief executive Mark Ashton has asserted that football has been negatively affected since the introduction of the video assistant referee (VAR) system. He has called for greater “consistency” in its implementation within the Premier League. During an exclusive interview on BBC Radio Suffolk’s The Blue Hour, Ashton stated: “From an entertainment perspective, I believe the game is worse off with VAR – from what I have seen.” He continued by emphasizing his demand for uniformity: “All I ask for with refereeing and VAR is consistency. We have not seen consistency. I don’t personally believe, and my colleagues don’t personally believe, that we have seen consistency over the games.” Ashton concluded, “All I look for is consistency. Right now, I am confused.” Ipswich Town is also considering a stadium expansion. Ashton confirmed that he held discussions with PGMOL chief Howard Webb after the Tractor Boys were denied a penalty during their 1-1 draw with Leicester City, following an incident where Abdul Fatawu appeared to push Conor Chaplin over in the box. He further commented: “The culmination of the interesting conversation with Howard on Saturday night was that we will meet this week at Portman Road to discuss it. We need answers. We need to understand.” Ashton expressed his difficulty in comprehending certain refereeing decisions, adding: “At the moment, I cannot understand some of the refereeing decisions that were made and I struggle to understand why we weren’t awarded a penalty.” He also dismissed the opinions of former referees, stating: “I have seen former referees giving their opinion that it wasn’t a penalty, but they cannot be serious. Come on – don’t just back your former colleagues – it was a stonewall penalty.”