"I told you that was a foul on John Rogers! We should have had a penalty!"

“Vernon Eliot played the ball – you can see he did!”

Comics often have a wonderful ability to predict the future, and Roy of the Rovers is no different. Case and point: VAR! In this short strip, published in the late 70s, Roy has the ingenious idea to help reduce hooliganism by installing a giant TV screen! After the usual drama, the screens are a huge success, but not before they give us a glimpse in to what VAR will look like in modern day football, over 40 years later!

We have also been made aware of an unfortunate error in the 65th Anniversary Special Hardback/Magazine, in which part of this strip was repeated. While we'd love to blame a spy from Melborough, sadly we can't. We're sorry for any inconvenience caused for those who purchased the special. This has now been amended for future copies, and you can download a digital version of the full strip using the link below.  

Download a FREE preview of our 65th Anniversary Special with Roy invents VAR, out now!