Wolverhampton Wanderers

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Premier League clubs will vote on the use of video assistant referees (VAR) in England's top flight in June, after Wolves formally submitted a resolution to the Premier League on Wednesday.

A club statement said the implementation of VAR in the Premier League at the start of the 2019-20 season "was a decision made in good faith and with the best interests of football and the Premier League at its heart" but added it has "led to numerous unintended negative consequences that are damaging the relationship between fans and football, and undermining the value of the Premier League brand".

It then listed nine of what it perceives to be "unintended negative consequences":

• Impact on goal celebrations and the spontaneous passion that makes football special.

• Frustration and confusion inside stadiums due to lengthy VAR checks and poor communication.

• A more hostile atmosphere with protests, booing of the Premier League anthem and chants against VAR.

• Overreach of VAR’s original purpose to correct clear and obvious mistakes, now overanalysing subjective decisions and compromising the game's fluidity and integrity.

• Diminished accountability of on-field oXicials, due to safety net of VAR, leading to an erosion of authority on the pitch.

• Continued errors despite VAR, with supporters unable to accept human error after multiple views and replays, damaging confidence in officiating standards.

• Disruption of the Premier League's fast pace with lengthy VAR checks and more added time, causing matches to run excessively long.

• Constant discourse about VAR decisions often overshadowing the match itself, and tarnishing the reputation of the league.

• Erosion of trust and reputation, with VAR fuelling completely nonsensical allegations of corruption.

Wolves said there is "no blame to be placed" and that "all stakeholders have been working hard to try to make the introduction of additional technology a success", but it was "time for a constructive and critical debate" about the future of VAR after five seasons in operation.

The statement concluded: "Our position is that the price we are paying for a small increase in accuracy is at odds with the spirit of our game, and as a result we should remove it from the 2024-25 season onwards."

Here are the key facts and figures before Sunday's game between Liverpool and Wolves in the Premier League.

• Liverpool have won 13 of their past 14 Premier League meetings with Wolves, the only exception being a 3-0 loss at Molineux in February last season.

• Wolves have lost eight of their nine Premier League away games against Liverpool - the one exception a 1-0 win in December 2010 when the Reds were managed by Roy Hodgson.

• Liverpool have not lost on any of the past 16 occasions when they have finished their league campaign with a home game (W14 D2) and they have won the past eight in a row. Their last defeat was against Arsenal in the 1988-89 campaign - when the Gunners won 2-0 to secure their first league title in 18 years.

• Wolves have lost eight and won just one of their nine Premier League games on the final 38th league game. Their win rate of 11% on the final day is the lowest of any side currently in the competition - their current run of losing seven consecutive such games is the joint-longest in English top-flight history.

Wolves and Manchester United are the focus of Thursday's back pages.

The Red Devils are in the spotlight after a hard-earned 3-2 win over Newcastle.

'Amad for it' is the lead on the Daily Star after 21-year-old Amad Diallo performed well and found the net in the victory.

Wolves meanwhile have called for a vote on scrapping the use of the Video Assistant Referee at the Premier League's next meeting.

Their move proved timely as in Manchester United's win, a contentious VAR call saw Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon not given a penalty when he appeared to have been brought down in the box.

Afterwards, Gordon shared his frustrations with the media, demanding VAR improve or disappear.

Scotland striker Che Adams, 27, is in talks with Wolves over a free transfer when his Southampton contract expires at the end of the season. (Football Transfers), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Gary O’Neil was conflicted. Some Wolves fans – perhaps not as many as would have done had they won the game – stayed after the defeat by Crystal Palace to see the end-of-season prizes handed out. Their generous applause gave the coach some consolation.

"They’re great at putting perspective on stuff here, which you don’t always expect from football fans but these are incredible with it," he said. "I stand here really disappointed – one of the most disappointed days I’ve had here. But they’re still singing and cheering players and stayed right until the end, because we have more points, more wins and more goals than we did last year, with a squad that was ripped apart."

Wolves have scaled high peaks this season, but they are starting to recede into the distance. The campaign has had a troubling tail for Wolves, who have been fading badly since the FA Cup quarter-final in March, to O’Neil’s growing discomfort.

"What I do like about it," he said, "is that I’ve seen a lot of things that have to improve, in the last few weeks. The last couple of games, we can look closer to home than looking at the injuries…a lot to look at and a lot to improve over the summer."

The list of injuries has eased although the difference between being fully fit and merely uninjured has been clear, especially in the toils of Hwang Hee-Chan and Matheus Cunha since their return.

Alas, there is no realistic solution to this that will not require spending money. That part is not in question; the tricky bit is generating the money in the first place.

"I don’t think there’ll be money available to us if nobody leaves,” said O’Neil last Friday, which quickly gave some supporters the jitters, thinking they were hearing echoes of Julen Lopetegui this time last year.

Not really - or at least, not yet. A summer of net-zero spending would be very different to the large profit needed last year. It will still mean making difficult decisions, perhaps at speed if and when offers come in for current players.

"My obvious hope," said O’Neil, "is that we all are on the same page and we can push things forward in a direction that we’re all looking to."

That page will need to be written very soon. In effect, next season starts not in August, but on Monday.

*Liverpoolv Wolves – live commentary on BBC Radio WM (DAB/Freeview), Sunday from 16:00 BST

*BBC Radio WM Football Phone-In, weeknights from 18:00 BST

Dazzling Dave
Fan writer

We asked our Wolves fan contributor for their four player of the season choices and you can now vote for your top one.

Image source, Getty Images

Rayan Ait-Nouri

Rayan has gone from Wolves misfit to to a much sought-after asset! He is highly skilled and can control the ball superbly in tight spaces. He can defend at one end and change games at the other, making him invaluable and one of the finest left-backs in the Premier League.

Matheus Cunha

Never one to shy away from a challenge, Brazil international Cunha has been Wolves' primary source of goals and assists this season. He is versatile, a great ball carrier and, of course, he bagged a fine goal at the Hawthorns, already making him a Wolves legend!

Mario Lemina

While many thought Ruben Neves' absence would hurt the team, Lemina has made it seem insignificant. Mario exhibits exceptional leadership qualities, is able to out-muscle opponents, pass and dribble out of tight spaces and is a formidable force in midfield. Only five players have scored more headers than Lemina's three in the Premier League this season.

Nelson Semedo

Wolves supporters have witnessed a massive improvement in Semedo's performances this season - he has been 'Mr Consistent'. While he has always been capable of delivering deadly crosses into the box, the key difference is his enhanced defensive abilities.

Pick your 2023-24 Wolves player of the season from our shortlist here

Dazzling Dave can be found at Always Wolves Fan TV, external

Wolves are expected to offer manager Gary O'Neil a new three-year contract. (i Sport - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

We asked for your views on Saturday's match between Wolves and Crystal Palace.

Here are some of your answers:

Wolves fans

Tim: We started with lots of possession but no threat in front of goal. The second half was better, but too late, and generally there were too many errors and too many instances of players moaning at each other. I dread to think what will happen at Liverpool next weekend. Roll on next season - this one is ending with a sour taste in the mouth.

David: They look very disjointed and lacking inspiration.

Simon: Awful game - clueless at times. Hwang didn’t touch the ball until 30 minutes into the game. Best player taken off at halftime, all Cuhna wants to do is throw his arms around and complain, the mentality of some players has shifted drastically from earlier in the season and Gary hasn’t been able to address it…was his head turned by speculation of leaving?

Crystal Palace fans

Rich: Not our best performance but goals came from our three superb forwards. Clyne needs praise for another great performance. One last push for our best finish, amazingly after being told to 'be careful what we wish for'. Fingers crossed for keeping our three strikers together for another season and really see what Glasner can achieve next season.

John: This is the Palace that I have been waiting 50 years for. Always the best team in south London but now onwards and upwards. Oliver's army is here to stay!

Mark: Not our best performance recently but they all count. Hughes going off injured affected us.

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's eight Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer here.

And you can watch highlights of Sunday's games on Match of the Day 2 here.

Also, listen back to Saturday's BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries in full on BBC Sounds:

• West Ham United v Luton Town

• Nottingham Forest v Chelsea

Charlotte Coates
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves secured their Premier League status some time ago and have produced some brilliant performances this season.

The latest loss to Crystal Palace was certainly one to forget but there is reason to be excited for the next campaign.

Manager Gary O'Neil has transformed fortunes at Molineux this season and performances are likely to improve further after another pre-season learning the methods of O'Neil.

Wolves have been unfortunate with key players, such as Pedro Neto, being injured for lenghty spells and O'Neil highlighted that post-match to BBC Match of the Day: "There's a lot of reasons for the drop off. It's the smallest squad in the league and young.

"Pedro Neto has been injured. We haven't been able to name our front three together."

With a fit and firing squad, Wolves could be a surprise package next season.

Gary O'Neil spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Wolves' defeat against Crystal Palace: "We beat ourselves really in the first half when we gave ourselves a mountain to climb. We started the game well but we allowed Palace to press us high up the pitch. You could feel it in the stadium and Palace started to grow from it.

"We've had an incredible season apart from today. Lots of positives but we can't keep talking about how well we've done. We need to find ways to go about it slightly differently. We have a lot of work done between now and the end of the season.

"Great response in the second half. We had momentum but the third goal for them kills the game off. We haven't quite reached the level we are at at the start of the season.

"There's a lot of reasons for the drop off. It's the smallest squad in the league and young. Pedro Neto has been injured. We haven't been able to name our front three together. We can get better at decision making and errors on the ball. I'm pleased we've seen the flaws. We can learn some stuff and there's a lot to learn. Maybe we are easier to play against.

"We have a big game at Anfield next week. The fans have great perspective here. They understand the work that's been done in difficult circumstances."

• Crystal Palace have won five of their last six Premier League games (D1), indeed since Oliver Glasner’s first game in charge in February, only Man City (9 wins, 29 points) and Arsenal (9 wins, 28 points) have won more games and points in the competition than the Eagles (6 wins, 21 points).

• Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta has scored 10 goals in 12 Premier League appearances under Oliver Glasner, just one fewer than he netted in the combined 79 games he played under Roy Hodgson (5) and Patrick Vieira (6) in the competition.

• Wolves have lost six of their last seven Premier League games against Crystal Palace (W1), indeed since their promotion ahead of 2018-19, only against Liverpool (10) and Man City (8) have they lost more matches in the competition than against the Eagles (7).

• Michael Olise has been directly involved in 15 goals (10 goals, five assists) in just 18 Premier League appearances for Crystal Palace this season, already his most goal involvements in a single campaign in the competition, having registered 13 goals (2) and assists (11) combined in 37 games last season.

• Eberechi Eze scored his 24th Premier League goal for Crystal Place in the Premier League, while 33% of those have been assisted by Michael Olise (8).

INSERT MATCH REPORT HERE

Were you at the ground or following along from home?

Wolves fans, give us your thoughts on the game.

Tell us what you made of the performance, Eagles supporters.

Follow all the reaction here

There are eight Premier League games taking place today, and you can stay updated with all of them via our live page.

Keep up with all the action and reaction here.

Chris Sutton is making predictions for every Premier League game this season against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's matches, he takes on Kasabian frontman Serge Pizzorno.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Fair play to Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner for what he has done at Palace since taking charge in February.

His initial results were not great and I thought it would be difficult to change the team's brand of football in such a short space of time, but he has changed it and they are getting results.

Having Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise fit has obviously helped the Eagles a lot in an attacking sense, and they are creating lots of chances for Jean-Philippe Mateta.

I can see those three having more joy against a Wolves team who have gone off the boil in recent weeks and are stumbling towards the end of the season.

Serge's prediction: 1-1

Palace are looking pretty strong but Wolves boss Gary O'Neil will not let his side canter through their final home game of the season.

Read all of the predictions here

Holly Bacon
BBC Sport journalist

Gary O’Neil has been speaking to the media before Wolves host Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday (15:00 BST kick-off).

Here are the main lines from his news conference:

• Pedro Neto has returned to training but will not be involved on Saturday because he has "not done enough at high speeds to guarantee it's not a risk for him". However, Santiago Bueno is back and available.

• O'Neil said "the change in results and momentum" show how injuries have impacted them this season, adding: "No excuse, of course - we understand all teams have injuries. To have no forwards available for a long part of the season is tough in the Premier League."

• On next season: "We want to push on so I don’t want it so be seen as 'yeah we’ve done OK this year and everyone can go off and be happy'. It's something to build on."

• He said he believes Crystal Palace's upturn in form is down to both the change in manager and key players returning. He said: "The new coach and fresh ideas, they've got [Ebrechi] Eze and [Michael] Olise back, and [Marc] Guehi coming back. Roy Hodgson did a fantastic job for a very long time. The changes are not only due to form and not only due to a change of coach. It will be a tough test for us - they're on a really good run."

• He added: "A last home game that we want to be enjoyable for us and the fans. A chance to go out on a high."

• On the club's plans for the summer, O'Neil said there is lots still to be discussed but he "isn't sure how much they will be able to do". He added: "I don't think there will be money available to us if nobody leaves. If we decided not to sell a big player there may be some bits and pieces we can do. The club is expected - in the foreseeable future, maybe not long-term future - to be able to fund itself."

• Offering more on spending potential, O'Neil said: "I think it won't be the same as last year where we have to sell loads and make a huge profit, but I wouldn't expect it to be a spending spree."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves have announced two pre-season friendlies in the United States against Premier League opposition.

They will play West Ham in Jacksonville on Saturday 27th July and then travel to Annapolis, Maryland to face Crystal Palace on Wednesday 31st July.

It will be the club's first trip to the US in 43 years and the general manager for marketing and commercial growth Russell Jones told the club's official website, external: "Here at Wolves, we have a proud and long-standing connection with the States, having played such a significant role in first professional league back in 1967 as the LA Wolves.

“Bringing the first-team to the US is a major next step and we are looking forward to working with our US-based supporter clubs to put on a series of events for existing and new fans travelling to the games.

“Aside from the opportunity to grow the club’s fans base, the tour will also provide a number of exciting exposure opportunities for club partners looking to grow their brands in the US.”