Sports
Premier League 2025-26 Table Without VAR
VAR has been a constant talking point ever since the Premier League introduced the divisive technology at the start of the 2019-20 season.
While numerous tweaks have been made over the years in an attempt to ensure more correct decisions are made, the process is sped up and so on, VAR continues to frustrate the vast majority of football supporters.
A survey by the Football Supporters’ Association in March found that three-quarters of fans of Premier League clubs are against the use of VAR. A whopping 90% disagreed that the technology has improved the matchday experience, while 91% claim VAR has harmed the spontaneity of goal celebrations.
Furthermore, a staggering 94% of the 8,000 fans served disagreed that VAR makes watching football on TV more enjoyable.
“The results show that most fans want VAR removed,” Thomas Concannon, the FSA’s Premier League network manager, told BBC Sport. “We’ve all lived with VAR for so long now that we’ve seen the negative impact it’s had on the game.
“People are annoyed about the time that it takes, annoyed about the accuracy, and annoyed about the [reduced] spontaneity. It does take away from what football is meant to be and what those special moments are about.”
Premier League Table Without VAR
With the VAR backlash showing no signs of dying down any time soon, disgruntled fans might be interested to see how the 2025-26 Premier League table would currently look if the technology didn’t exist. Data expert from AceOdds, via The Sun, have released the table – so let’s take a closer look.
Relegation Zone
Wolves would have two more points on the board but would still be doomed for relegation, as would Burnley, who’d boast three more points without VAR.
West Ham would have the same number of points overall, despite being controversially denied an equalising goal against Arsenal following a VAR review on May 10.
|
Premier League Table Without VAR – Relegation Zone |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Position |
Club |
Movement |
Pld |
Pts |
|
18. |
West Ham |
0 |
36 |
36 |
|
19. |
Burnley |
0 |
36 |
24 (+3) |
|
20. |
Wolves |
0 |
36 |
20 (+2) |
Bottom Half
Tottenham aren’t safe from the drop by any means but they’d currently be four points better off, up in 15th position, without VAR. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, would be six points worse off – leaving them one point above the relegation zone with only two fixtures remaining.
Crystal Palace would also have fewer points on the board, while Sunderland’s points tally would be slashed from 48 points to 42.
Leeds United would jump three places into 13th spot, just behind Newcastle United in 12th. But Brentford would slide down from eighth place to 11th.
|
Premier League Table Without VAR – Bottom Half |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Position |
Club |
Movement |
Pld |
Pts |
|
11. |
Brentford |
Down 3 |
36 |
47 (-4) |
|
12. |
Newcastle |
Up 1 |
36 |
45 (-1) |
|
13. |
Leeds |
Up 3 |
35 |
44 (+1) |
|
14. |
Sunderland |
Down 2 |
36 |
42 (-6) |
|
15. |
Tottenham |
Up 2 |
35 |
41 (+4) |
|
16. |
Crystal Palace |
Down 2 |
35 |
40 (-4) |
|
17. |
Nott’m Forest |
Down 2 |
36 |
37 (-6) |
Top Half
Just sneaking into the top half are Chelsea with 47 points, two less than their actual 49-point tally. Everton and Fulham both move up to places into eighth and ninth place, respectively.
Liverpool would slide three places down into seventh spot, although Arne Slot’s side would still have the same number of points. Aston Villa would fall to sixth place, while Bournemouth would occupy the fifth and final Champions League spot with 60 points – five points more than their current tally.
|
Premier League Table Without VAR – Top Half |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Position |
Club |
Movement |
Pld |
Pts |
|
5. |
Bournemouth |
Up 1 |
36 |
60 (+5) |
|
6. |
Aston Villa |
Down 1 |
36 |
60 (+1) |
|
7. |
Liverpool |
Down 3 |
36 |
59 |
|
8. |
Everton |
Up 2 |
36 |
51 (+2) |
|
9. |
Fulham |
Up 2 |
36 |
48 |
|
10. |
Chelsea |
Down 1 |
36 |
47 (-2) |
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Top Four
Brighton would be the big winners if VAR didn’t exist or became a distant memory, rising to fourth spot after gaining seven additional points. Manchester United’s position and points tally would be unchanged.
But things would be a lot closer at the very top of the table. Arsenal, who benefitted from that controversial VAR call at West Ham’s London Stadium, would lose five of their 79 points. Man City would only lose one point, which means the Premier League trophy would be theirs to lose, considering they have that game in hand.
Mikel Arteta, his players and everyone else associated with Arsenal will be thanking their lucky stars that VAR is in use.
|
Premier League Table Without VAR – Top 4 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Position |
Club |
Movement |
Pld |
Pts |
|
1. |
Arsenal |
0 |
36 |
74 (-5) |
|
2. |
Man City |
0 |
35 |
73 (+1) |
|
3. |
Man Utd |
0 |
36 |
65 |
|
4. |
Brighton |
Up 3 |
36 |
60 (+7) |
Data correct as of 11/05/2026.
Sports
WWE Are Considering The Rock and Oba Femi For Roman Reigns
With WWE already confirming that WrestleMania 43 will be the first held outside of North America in the company’s history, they are reportedly already developing plans for the card.
The 2027 edition of the flagship event will take place in Saudi Arabia to help celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of the first Saudi state. But, despite still being 10 months away, WWE’s creative team are already working on possible storylines and matches.
According to Self Made Pro, WWE has a couple of names in the pipeline to take on heavyweight champion Roman Reigns at The Showcase of the Immortals next year, and both names will seriously excite fans.
Roman Reigns’ Plans For WrestleMania 43
Reporting on the Self Made Sessions podcast, they said: “So I talked to someone in WWE, right? There’s a lot of moving pieces right now, and they’re still unclear, at least as far as I’m aware, as far as the people I spoke to are aware, I should say.
“Right now, if Dwayne (Johnson)’s not doing ‘Mania, then they’re looking to do Oba Femi and Roman at ‘Mania.”
Talk of a match-up involving Reigns and The Rock has been suggested for a number of years now, and nearly came to fruition at WrestleMania 40.
Reports emerged earlier this year that WWE officials were working with their Saudi counterparts to try and persuade The People’s Champion to take part at WrestleMania 43. The Rock has revealed that negotiations were ongoing, but he stopped at confirming anything concrete.
Initial reports have indicated that the Moana actor has been offered “the largest offer ever made for someone to do a pro-wrestling show.”
‘Real Reason’ WWE Won’t Bring WrestleMania to London Revealed
After years of hype, the English capital is no closer to hosting ‘Mania…
The Roman Reigns versus The Rock match-up would be a fun event for fans of all ages to see. However, if WWE wants to create sustainable storylines, they may well want to look at Oba Femi.
Since making his big breakthrough at the Royal Rumble in January, The Ruler has shown his worth, despite a loss to Brock Lesnar at Clash in Italy, and is surely a big part of WWE’s future.
There is some history between the Original Tribal Chief and Oba Femi too, which helps. The latter called out the heavyweight champion after his win over Lesnar at WrestleMania 42. After beating The Beast Incarnate in April, Femi said: “By the end of the year, the OTC (Original Tribal Chief) can get some.”
Roman Reigns acknowledged this and responded that same night. He said he would keep an eye on the big Nigerian through the summer and see how he does before they meet in the ring.
With the event set to take place in the Middle East, both WWE and Saudi officials will be looking to include The Rock to make as much noise as possible and help create a buzz. However, for a more natural storyline, they should be looking at Oba Femi if his progression continues at this rate.
Sports
Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? Player Lost £108k After World Cup Question
A man lost a whopping £108k after getting a World Cup question wrong on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
If you aren’t aware of the premise of the game show, it’s simple. If a contestant correctly answers 15 questions in a row, they become a millionaire.
The questions are completely random and can be on any topic. Contestants can use lifelines to help them out should they struggle. While they can walk away from the game at any point, taking home whatever they had earned to that point, should they not want to gamble.
Marc Offenbacher was given the opportunity to play the German edition of the game show. He correctly answered 12 questions, using just two of his four lifelines along the way, to earn himself €64,000.
He was then asked a tricky World Cup question, with a correct answer worth €125,000.
Offenbacher Answers World Cup Question Wrong
Host Gunther Jauch read out question 13 of 15 to Offenbacher:
“What is the most common final score in men’s FIFA World Cup finals? 1–0? 2–1? 3–1? Or 4–2?”
Offenbacher admitted that he wasn’t a football fan. He said: “I’m more of an outdoors person. I never watch football. Not even other sports.”
Fortunately for Offenbacher, he had two lifelines at his disposal. He decided to ask a member of the audience if someone thinks they know the answer and, if they do, they stand up and give their thoughts.
Initially, there weren’t any takers. But one audience member eventually stood up to give their opinion.
The audience member said: “I can’t name all the World Cup final results off the top of my head, but I’ve heard that statistically, most football matches end 2–1. So I’d assume it’s the same for the World Cup finals.”
They added: “I’d actually rule out 4–2. I think, back in the early days of football, scores were still pretty high. But nowadays, the number of goals is usually around two or three per match. But as I said, I couldn’t tell you all the World Cup final scores…”
Offenbacher agreed that he would also rule out 4-2. He then used his final lifeline, a 50:50, leaving him with just two answers, 4-2 and 2-1.
The contestant then locked in his answer: 2-1. Justifying his decision, he said:
“We’ve both ruled out D, so let’s see whether B is correct. Honestly, 4–2 is just too high to be the most common final result. I didn’t want to say anything earlier, but what I know is that the most common result in football is 2–1.”
Unfortunately, he picked wrong, and was gutted when informed by the host. He left with just €500, €64,500 less than he would have taken home if he hadn’t answered the question and €124,500 less than if he’d got it right.
He added: “In hindsight, I’d say – yeah, it was stupid, too risky. I probably should’ve stopped. Honestly, I also thought it was 2–1, and then, with the audience’s support…”
The World Cup Finals That Have Ended 4-2
A World Cup final has ended 2-1 on just two occasions, while four finals have ended 4-2.
Uruguay won the first ever World Cup in 1930, defeating Argentina 4-2 in the final. Eight years later, Italy beat Hungary by the same scoreline to retain their title.
England won their only World Cup in 1966, beating West Germany 4-2 in the final. Geoff Hurst scored a historic hat-trick at Wembley, while Martin Peters also found himself on the scoresheet.
While in 2018, France triumphed over Croatia by that scoreline. Mario Mandzukic (OG), Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe were all on target for Les Bleus as they won the World Cup for the second time.
Sports
FA to ‘Consider England Position’ on Thomas Partey 2026 World Cup Handshake
There’s a chance that England players will not shake hands with one of their opponents at the 2026 World Cup finals.
Thomas Tuchel’s England players are currently being put through their paces with warm-weather training sessions in Florida, USA, in preparation for the showpiece international tournament, which gets underway on June 11.
England face two warm-up games against New Zealand (June 6) and Costa Rica (June 10) before their World Cup Group L opener against Croatia on June 17.
The Three Lions, who reached the Euro 2024 final and are among the favourites to win this summer’s World Cup with their star-studded 26-man squad, will also face Ghana (June 23) and Panama (June 27) in the group stages.
FA Considering How England Players Confront Partey Handshake
Pre-match handshakes between opposing players are customary before top-level matches, including World Cup fixtures.
However, the Football Association (FA) are reportedly set to consider how England players confront the possibility of facing Ghana’s Thomas Partey for a pre-match handshake on June 23, according to The Times.
The FA declined to comment when asked if England players will be consulted on the matter. The Times’ chief sports correspondent Matt Lawton adds: “[The FA] will be only too aware that two of the four Arsenal players in the squad – Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka – are former team-mates of Partey. Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze joined Arsenal after Partey left the club on June 30 last year when his contract expired.”
Partey has been named in Ghana’s 26-man squad despite being charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in July 2025. The former Arsenal midfielder, who now plays for Spanish side Villarreal, was charged with two new counts of rape in February 2026.
Partey, 32, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Ghana Defend Partey World Cup Call-Up
“Thomas is our vice-captain,” Ghana FA president Kurt Okraku told BBC Sport. “He is one of the top midfielders in the world and we stand by him shoulder to shoulder.”
Partey was booed by Welsh fans during Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw between Wales and Ghana.
Asked about his decision to pick the midfielder for the match in Cardiff, Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz said: “It’s a simple and basic answer. As far as I know, in England, in Portugal, whatever, until the court makes a decision, that the presumption of innocence is on the side of all court cases.
“But today, and this is not only about Thomas, very unfortunately the way the social media and the media sometimes act with full and total impunity, we are condemned even before we have the opportunity to defend. So let the events run this normal course. Let the river flow and one day when the river meets the ocean, we’re going to find the truth.”
Queiroz, Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant manager at Manchester United, also hit out at the media after Wales fans booed Partey on Tuesday evening.
Ghana begin their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 18 before facing England and Croatia (June 27).
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