Former Premier League Official Graham Scott Predicts Refereeing Revolution at 2026 World Cup

Graham Scott has spent more than two decades at the heart of English football officiating, rising from the lower leagues in 1997 to become a familiar presence in the Premier League.

Now reflecting on his career in an exclusive interview with SportsBoom, Scott offers a candid insight into how refereeing has evolved, how supporters perceive officials, and how upcoming World Cup-related changes could reshape the future of the game.

World Cup innovation: VAR, AI and the push for faster football

With the next World Cup set to bring further adjustments to the Laws of the Game, Scott believes football is entering a decisive era, one where technology and refereeing will become even more tightly connected.

Among the key talking points is VAR usage inside stadiums, something Scott believes could improve transparency at the highest level of the game.

“I would allow the supporters in the stadium to see the pictures. I would, as the referee, be shown the replays on the big screen, so I could make the decision in the stadium, not the VAR would simply arrange the replays for me, and I would watch them, I would talk over the pictures, and then the supporters could hear what I was thinking,” Graham Scott told SportsBoom.com. 

Looking ahead to the 2026 World Cup era, Scott expects automation to play a growing role, particularly in offside decisions.

“Yes, I think offside will become the factual offside decisions will be made by the computers, by AI, by automated technology, but we will still need assistant referees to determine who played the ball last and to help with subjective offside decisions. So whether a player is, for example, interfered with an opponent or the goalkeeper's line of vision, that will still require people,” the former referee said.

However, while technology will continue to evolve, Scott is clear that the rhythm of the game must remain intact, and he is cautious about radical changes to timing itself.

“I think any moves to speed up the game are welcome. And of course, we shall have those, and I think we need to have the ball in play more, and I think that the game needs to flow better, to be continuous. I don't like the idea of stopping the clock. I would much rather solve the problem of slow play by speeding up the match than stopping the clock,” Graham added. 

VAR misunderstandings and the referee’s perspective

Despite ongoing debate around VAR protocols, Scott insists much of the criticism stems from a misunderstanding of how the system actually works.

“No, and they have no excuse because the protocol is published. It's available on the website. It's not a secret. and they should know,” he said about this topic.

He also rejects the idea that VAR removes authority from on-field officials, stressing that referees still make the core decisions in real time.

“As referees, we make the decision in the moment. And the VAR does not affect that process. It certainly did not for me. So I made the best decision I could, standing where I was, with the view that I had, based on the information available." 

A message to fans ahead of football’s next era

With the World Cup cycle ushering in further technological change and renewed debate around officiating, Scott’s message to supporters is rooted in perspective and respect.

“That we are human beings doing our very best, that we only want to see fair play, and that we are not biased against their team. We're not biased against any team. We just want to see a fair game, and a fair outcome, and that no one notices us when we are when we go home, and we want people to say that they didn't notice we were there,” Scott concluded.