The craziest press conference of the year.

Philippe Clement, head coach of Norwich City, delivered one of the most intense press conferences of the year after his team's 1-2 home defeat to West Bromwich Albion in the Championship. The loss was compounded by a controversial goal scored by West Brom, which Clement claimed was wrongly awarded due to a handball that went unnoticed by the officials. He criticized the absence of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology in the Championship, a system used in numerous leagues worldwide, and took the opportunity to highlight the disparity. The match had already been marred by controversy, with a clear handball by a West Brom player going unpunished. The referee did not spot the infringement, and the lack of VAR in the Championship meant there was no possibility for correction. This prompted Clement to launch into a seven-minute monologue during his press conference, expressing frustration over the current state of officiating in English football’s second tier. Clement began by stating that he had initially wanted to avoid discussing the incident, focusing instead on aspects of the game that his team could improve upon. However, he felt compelled to address the issue after realizing the extent of the problem. “I asked my analyst to check which leagues around the world have implemented VAR,” he explained before presenting a detailed list of countries and leagues that currently utilize the technology. He proceeded to recite a comprehensive list of 71 leagues globally that have adopted VAR, including Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, two leagues, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, two leagues, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, England, only the Premier League, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, two leagues, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, two leagues, Japan, two leagues, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, two leagues, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, two leagues, Spain, two leagues, Switzerland, Thailand, two leagues, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela. After finishing the list, Clement continued, emphasizing how the absence of VAR in the Championship contrasts sharply with its presence in other leagues. “It’s madness that the Championship doesn’t have VAR,” he said. “Look at the evolution in World Cup matches. There’s a chip in the ball now, reducing errors even further. In six months, it will be better, and in a year, even more so. But referees need to learn this too. The first step should be the Championship, or even lower down.” Clement pointed out that while VAR is available in knockout stages of some competitions, it is absent in the regular season, affecting the fairness of play. He noted that leagues such as Venezuela might look at England’s situation and think they have a superior competition because of their implementation of VAR. Clement’s remarks underscored the growing demand for technological advancements in football officiating, particularly in the Championship, where the absence of VAR has led to several contentious decisions this season. His detailed listing of leagues using VAR highlighted the global trend toward adopting the technology to enhance decision-making accuracy and fairness in the sport.