Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva says that he is in favour of the advent of VAR, adding he believes it will help referees improve the game with stronger decisions.
The 24-year-old, who recently capped off a superb 2018-19 campaign with victory in the Nations League with Portugal, did however add that the system still requires improvement.
Silva, who was named the Blues’ Player of the Year for his exploits in helping them towards a domestic treble as they retained the Premier League title, has been in the form of his life this season.
He was named the recipient of the Alan Hardaker Trophy for the man of the match performance he delivered in the Carabao Cup final over Chelsea, as well as being elected to the PFA Team of the Year.
Taking part in a Q&A session with website SPORF, Silva reflected on his excellent year, and weighed in on a number of topics.
Among them, he gave a ringing endorsement of the VAR system, which has come in for both praise and criticism in recent years as it has been implemented on a wider scale, though he did acknowledge that it was yet to be perfected.
“I am in favour of the VAR,” he stated. “I think it’s another tool to help the referees make football better with better decisions.
“Of course it needs improvement, it needs to get quicker and everything. People need to get used to it, but yeah, [I like it]!”
Silva also added that he felt this campaign, that saw City beat Liverpool to the Premier League crown by a point, was among the most exciting in the competition’s history.
“I agree because I think, well, I’m only 24-years-old, I haven’t watched all the Premier League seasons,” he stated. “Maybe that season when Aguero scored that late goal was very emotional.
“But from what I felt, [this year] was unbelievable. I think both teams were fantastic and it was a great Premier League season.”
City head to China next month for the Premier League Asia Cup before returning via Japan to prepare for the new season.