Norwegian football fans have announced a series of protests across the opening two matchdays of the top two divisions after its governing body voted to keep using Video Assistant Refereeing (VAR) despite its professional clubs voting to discontinue the system.
The 2025 Eliteserien, Norway’s top division, begins on Saturday March 28 and fans will stay out of stadiums for the first 15 minutes of each match before entering en masse as a protest against the recent decision to continue using VAR.
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The Norwegian Supporter Alliance (NSA) drew up the initiative as a ‘silent demonstration and walk-in’, while a joint statement from supporters’ groups at Oslo-based Valerenga say the action “is intended to raise awareness that member democracy is under attack by anti-democratic forces who want to take control of Norwegian football”.
In January, the 32 teams in Norsk Toppfotball (NTF), which represents clubs across Norway’s top two divisions — the Eliteserien and First Division — passed a motion by 19 votes to 13 to request the Norway Football Federation (NFF) “adopt the discontinuation of VAR as soon as possible”.
However, the NFF responded by asking all 450 of its member clubs — the vast majority of whom are amateur and grassroots clubs who do not use the officiating technology — to vote on whether they wished to maintain VAR, with 321 voting in favour of keeping the system and 129 voting against.
The Valerenga fan groups say the demonstration will “symbolise what the abolition of member democracy can do to the supporter culture around Norwegian teams”, with their view that the will of the NTF professional clubs has been ignored by the NFF.
“For this celebration to be successful, it will require everyone to make a sacrifice,” the joint statement added. “We understand that everyone is looking forward to seeing our beloved Valerenga back in the league again, but we encourage everyone to find other solutions to watch the first 15 minutes. For example, venues will show the match on a big screen.
“As a last resort, there are still tickets available elsewhere in the stadium. We would like to emphasize that no attempts will be made to stop the matches.
“Defend member democracy!”
VAR was introduced into Eliteserien in 2023 but has frequently been the subject of supporter protests. One incident in July 2024 saw the top-flight match between Rosenborg and Lillestrom abandoned after supporters threw tennis balls, fishcakes and smokebombs onto the pitch in protest against the technology.
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A VAR report from the NFF in November stated the federation was being criticised for “its communication style regarding VAR”, adding: “Players acknowledge that VAR has enhanced the fairness of refereeing decisions, but call for improvements in time management and more predictable procedures.”
Elsewhere in Europe, Sweden became the first country to reject implementing VAR after fan backlash in May. In June Premier League clubs rejected proposals to scrap VAR following a motion from Wolverhampton Wanderers at the league’s AGM.
(Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
