Why VAR should not be used in WSL and my thoughts on Mohamed Salah dip in form for Liverpool – Fara Williams column

In her latest exclusive column for TNT Sports, England legend Fara Williams explains why she believes that VAR should not be introduced in the Women's Super League after the controversial decisions in Arsenal's draw with Chelsea. She also looks at Manchester City's title chances in the WSL and breaks down why Mohamed Salah has endured a difficult start to the Premier League campaign.

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Former England international Fara Williams will be providing exclusive insight and analysis for TNT Sports for the 2025/26 campaign. In her latest column, the Lionesses icon breaks down why VAR should not be used in the WSL after a few dubious calls in Arsenal's draw against champions Chelsea. Williams also explains why Manchester City are contenders for the WSL title as well as detailing the reasons behind Mohamed Salah's dip in form at Liverpool this season. Watch the women's and men's FA Cup, Premier League and UEFA Champions League live on TNT Sports and discovery+

VAR should not be top priority in WSL

There has been a lot of talk about introducing VAR into the Women's Super League after Arsenal found themselves on the wrong end of two decisions in their 1-1 draw against Chelsea on the weekend.

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When looking at both incidents, the first was a questionable handball, and I’m not sure how the assistant referee could see it because the camera angles didn’t really clear it up either.

I think the handball was a harsh call, but with the other decision, I think the offside decision was correct, but it was a very marginal decision.

Based off the two halves, I think a draw was a fairer reflection of the game, but it will be a tough one to take for Arsenal because they felt they got themselves back into the game and then were on the wrong end of two questionable decisions from their point of view.

When decisions go for you, you’re happy that VAR isn’t there but when they go against you, you want it there. I think there’s a lot more in our game that needs to be introduced before we start to think about bringing in VAR, which costs millions of pounds to install.

I think that structurally there’s a lot more that can be invested in the women’s game before the use of VAR. I’m personally not a fan of VAR anyway. More often than not, the percentages show that decisions are more correct following the introduction of VAR, but there’s still a lot of debate around it in the men’s game.

I don’t think we need it in our game right now because I think that the level of refereeing is good, and although we can argue it can be better, that’s the case across the whole game in men’s football too.

We always want the referees to be perfect and make perfect decisions, but they are humans who make errors, and you have to consider that as well.

Players and managers all make mistakes, but we’re not as scrutinised as referees. I can understand why Arsenal boss Renee Slegers would want the introduction of VAR after the decisions over the weekend, because it can feel quite harsh at times.

The officials in the women’s game are full-time now, which is an improvement from the past. When I played, that wasn’t the case, but referees were quite willing to have conversations with managers after the games, and it happened quite regularly.

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 08: Renee Slegers, Manager of Arsenal, looks on prior to the Barclays Women's Super League match between Arsenal and Chelsea FC at the Emirates Stadium on November 08, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

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During the end of my career at Reading, the officials were open to conversations and even though there might be some disagreement, we heard the decisions made from their point of view.

One of the issues is that us as players don’t know the finer details of the laws of the game. There are times when the referee has made the right decision more often or not by the letter of the law, but we just don’t like the game like that.

When you look at the disallowed Liverpool goal at Man City in the Premier League, you think how was Andy Robertson interfering with play when Gianluigi Donnarumma was already stretching to make a save?

Was Robertson in line with the goalkeeper? No. Was he impeding the goalkeeper’s flight of the ball? I don’t think so because the cameras show that Donnarumma can see the header from Virgil van Dijk and that’s why he was starting to try and save it.

However, Robertson made a movement and ducked at the last minute, so the letter of the law will indicate that the officials made the correct decision on-field even though we might not see it that way.

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I can absolutely understand the frustrations of Arne Slot, the players and the supporters as well as their counterparts at Everton, who saw a number of goals ruled out for offside against Fulham. It seems that the laws of the game don’t really match up with how we as fans and players see it and that’s always going to be difficult.

It’s the same with the handball rule because the law states that your hand is in an "unnatural position" when it’s away from your body, but it’s not the case when you’re jumping or lunging into a tackle, because where else can you put your arm or hand?

The laws of the game right now really don’t suit the game and that’s where the problems lie. Maybe VAR can be introduced further down the line in the women’s game, but we don’t need it right now.

Man City are 'biggest threat' to Chelsea in WSL

Man City have a great chance to win the WSL this season as they hold a point lead over Chelsea. They’re not in the Champions League, so in terms of their workload, it’s less than Chelsea, Man Utd and Arsenal, which is an advantage.

They have a good squad with a new manager and new ideas, and they seem to be clicking. I don’t think anyone suggested that City would win it this season given the way they performed in the previous campaign, which is similar to how people perceived the men’s team at the start of the season.

I think they are the biggest threat to Chelsea this season, especially with Arsenal dropping as many points as they have, it’s hard for them to close the gap on the top.

City should be considered as a real threat with Lauren Hemp returning from injury and they need to keep Bunny Shaw fit.

They also have a consistent back four, and things are looking good for Man City. Without European football, it gives them a slight edge over their league rivals.

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Slot rotation is harming Salah's form

Despite suffering a heavy defeat at Manchester City on Sunday, I think it’s way too early to rule Liverpool out of the title race because you cannot count against them going on a run to close the gap at the top.

But I don’t think that Arne Slot knows the right balance for the team this season. The full-back position is a massive problem after losing Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid in the summer because they are not as good on the ball without him and Mohamed Salah’s form has dipped as a result of that.

They signed Milos Kerkez thinking that he was going to be the perfect replacement for Robertson after his performances for Bournemouth last season, but he still hasn’t settled.

It could be that the weight of the shift and expectations are heavy on the new signings, and I’m including Florian Wirtz in there. We’ve seen the same thing happen in the past at Man Utd, and it looks to be the case this time around at Anfield.

Personnel and formations play a key role in a player’s form. Sometimes, you can be the best player in the world and you go to a team and your profile as a player doesn’t suit what the team is trying to do moving forward.

Salah has had that inconsistency with the full-backs behind him, and he hasn’t had a consistent full-back behind him all season.

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Liverpool have tried to play Jeremie Frimpong, Conor Bradley, Dominik Szoboszlai and even Curtis Jones at right-back, and it’s quite difficult for Salah to find that consistency with so many changes at that position.

Salah is unable to find that rhythm because he doesn’t know whether he needs to go inside or whether he needs to hold the width. He will also be thinking how much does he need to track back and defend or can he cheat a little by allowing his full-back to go one v one so you can have a real impact in those transition moments for Liverpool?

Liverpool haven’t managed to replace Trent and the team and Salah are still adapting to that. But you don’t lose quality overnight because he’s a class player and once he gets back to his best form, we won’t be questioning him.

I think that Slot has a lot of work to do and there are a few things that they need to fix to find the right balance, but you cannot write off Liverpool just yet.

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Thoughts?