Video assistant referee

Last updated

VAR monitor at the Estadio Monumental David Arellano in Santiago, Chile Colo-Colo v Palestino 20200128 03.jpg
VAR monitor at the Estadio Monumental David Arellano in Santiago, Chile
The VAR symbol used at the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, appearing on-screen during the review process VAR System Logo.svg
The VAR symbol used at the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, appearing on-screen during the review process

The video assistant referee (VAR) is a match official in association football who assists the referee by reviewing decisions using video footage and providing advice to the referee based on those reviews. [1]

Contents

The assistant video assistant referee (AVAR) is a match official appointed to assist the VAR in the video operation room and around the pitch. There are three AVARs (AVAR1, AVAR2, sometimes called the support video assistant referee, and AVAR3) who are assigned to different parts of the game that they are charged with reviewing and are in consistent communication with the VAR about possible situations that might warrant further review. The job of the AVAR1 is to watch the main camera and communicate some of the more obvious offenses within the game. The AVAR2 is located at the offside station and is responsible for assisting the VAR with offsides and reporting possible missed offside calls. The AVAR3 is responsible for monitoring the TV programs and assists in communication between the AVAR2 and the VAR since the AVAR2 is at the offside station. [2]

In addition to the VAR and the AVARs there are three replay operators who help the VAR and AVARs select the cameras with the best angle. [2]

Following extensive trialling in a number of major competitions, VAR was formally written into the Laws of the Game by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) on March 3, 2018. [3] Operating under the philosophy of "minimal interference, maximum benefit", [4] [5] the VAR system seeks to provide a way for "clear and obvious errors" and "serious missed incidents" to be corrected.

Procedure

There are four categories of decisions that can be reviewed. [6]

Check

A VAR decision during an FA Cup match at the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester. VAR decision.jpg
A VAR decision during an FA Cup match at the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester.

The VAR and the AVARs automatically check every on-field referee decision falling under the four reviewable categories. The VAR may perform a "silent check," communicating to the referee that no mistake was made, while not causing any delay to the game. At other times, a VAR check may cause the game to be delayed while the VAR ascertains whether or not a possible mistake has occurred. The referee may delay the restart of play for this to occur, and indicates an ongoing check by pointing to their ear.

Where the VAR does identify a possible clear and obvious error, there are three possible scenarios: [7]

A decision can generally be overturned without an OFR where it relates to a factual matter. For example, offside decisions or whether a foul occurred inside or outside the penalty area can be determined by the VAR to the referee without a review. VAR will recommend an OFR where there is a subjective decision to make, such as whether a foul was committed in the first place or whether a red card is warranted for a certain offence. In all cases, the final decision rests with the referee, and they can choose to ignore the advice of the VAR altogether. [8]

On-field review (OFR)

A Major League Soccer referee reviewing a play using a sideline monitor Baldomero Toledo checks VAR - Seattle Sounders vs. Sporting Kansas City.jpg
A Major League Soccer referee reviewing a play using a sideline monitor

An OFR can only be conducted on the recommendation of the VAR. This ensures that the referee always makes an on-field ruling and does not rely on OFRs for every close decision. An OFR can be conducted when the ball is out of play, or where the referee stops play for the express purpose of conducting one. [6]

The referee signals an OFR by making the outline of a rectangle, indicating a video screen. The OFR takes place in a designated referee review area (RRA), adjacent to the field of play and in public view to ensure transparency. Slow motion replays are only used to establish point of contact for physical offences and handball, while full-speed replays are shown to determine the intensity of an offence or whether a handball occurred in the first place. [9] During an OFR, the VAR transmits several video replays from different camera angles to assist the referee in making a decision.

Once an OFR is completed, the referee makes the TV signal again, before indicating the decision made. If the ball was out of play, it restarts with either the original decision or the new decision if the on-field one was changed. If play was stopped to conduct an OFR and the decision was not changed, a dropped ball occurs. [10]

Offences

A number of offences relating to the VAR process are codified within the Laws of the Game. Both players and team officials can be cautioned for excessively protesting an on-field decision by making the TV signal. Any player or team official entering the RRA are also cautioned. Finally, entering the video operation room will cause a player or team official to be sent off. [11]

Assistant video assistant referees in action during a Saudi Professional League match VAR AVAR.jpg
Assistant video assistant referees in action during a Saudi Professional League match

Location

The VAR and the AVARs are often located within the stadium where the match is being played. Certain leagues have begun using a centralized review location. For example, the English Premier League stations all its VAR teams in the video operation room (VOR) at Stockley Park in London and the German Football Association in Cologne-Deutz. [12] During its 2022 season, Major League Soccer in the United States created a Video Review Center in Atlanta where all its VAR teams operate. [13]

Camera setup

The Var system consists of 42 cameras including slow and ultra slow motion cameras as well as the cameras used in offside technology, and all FIFA host broadcaster camera feeds to ensure the VAR has the best angle possible on every play. [2]

Glossary

A number of technical terms and abbreviations are used in reference to the VAR system. These include: [14]

History

The moment when the referee decides to take a penalty kick as a result of VAR evaluation in the TFF First League.

VAR was conceived by the Refereeing 2.0 project in the early 2010s and under the direction of the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB). [19] The system was tested through mock trials during the 2012–13 season of the Eredivisie, the country's top football league. In 2014, the KNVB petitioned the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to amend its laws of the games to allow the system to be used during more extensive trials. The IFAB approved trials and a pathway to full implementation during its 2016 general meeting. [19] [20] Lukas Brud, IFAB secretary, said "With all the 4G and Wi-Fi in stadia today...we knew we had to protect referees from making mistakes that everyone can see immediately", such as Thierry Henry's handball that eliminated Ireland from qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup where the on-field referees were not in a position to view the infraction.

Proposals to introduce any form of video review were consistently rejected by FIFA president Sepp Blatter. Throughout his presidency, Blatter was vehemently opposed to the introduction of any new technology to challenge the live decisions of referees in football, often even going to far as to intervene (or threaten to) in domestic competition matters where the only pertinent question was whether suspensions for questionable sendings off should be enforced. After Blatter was forced out of his post due to an unrelated corruption scandal in 2015, the VAR proposal received a warm reception under his successor Gianni Infantino. [19]

The first live trial of the VAR system was in July 2016 in a friendly match between PSV and FC Eindhoven. [21]

The next live trial of the VAR system began in August 2016 with a United Soccer League match between two Major League Soccer reserve sides. [22] Match referee Ismail Elfath reviewed two fouls during the match and, after consultation with video assistant referee Allen Chapman, decided to issue a red card and a yellow card in the respective incidents. [23]

Video reviews were introduced the following month during an international friendly between France and Italy. [24]

The first professional "non-friendly" game was an official first round KNVB Cup tie between Ajax and Willem II on 21 September 2016. [25] This match was the first match to include a "pitchside monitor". The pitchside monitor would allow the referee to review footage from the field. Based on VAR but not using the available pitchside monitor, a yellow card was turned into a red card and thus this was the first ever VAR based expulsion in a professional game. [26] Interestingly, this professional and official Cup game was played before the official FIFA rule changes. Although viewers watching the match on television were made aware of the decision, the public in the stadium and, to a lesser extent, the players were confused as to what had happened. The major lesson from the confusion around this first major decision change was that VAR decisions needed to be clearly communicated to the players, the watching public inside the stadium, and on TV. [26]

The next event that VAR was used, including a "pitchside monitor" was at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup. [27] Kashima Antlers were awarded a penalty after a video review in the 3–0 win of semi-final against Atlético Nacional.

The A-League in Australia became the first to use a VAR system in a top-flight professional club competition on 7 April 2017, when Melbourne City played Adelaide United [28] though this game was completed without the VAR being called upon. [29] The first intervention by a VAR in a professional national league game was seen on 8 April when Wellington Phoenix hosted Sydney FC. The VAR identified an illegal handball in the penalty area and awarded Sydney FC a penalty. The game finished in a 1–1 draw. [30] [31]

Major League Soccer in the United States introduced VAR in competitive matches during its 2017 season after the 2017 MLS All-Star Game on 2 August 2017. [32] [33] Its first official use came during a match between the Philadelphia Union and FC Dallas, invalidating a goal from the latter over contact made between a Dallas player and Philadelphia's goalkeeper. [34] VAR was used at an international level in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in June, where it was praised, but its usefulness was questioned after a referee decision in the final match. [35] [36]

Also in 2017, Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) had its first official match using VAR, during Portuguese Cup Final between SL Benfica and Vitoria SC at Jamor Stadium on the 28 May 2017. Portuguese Football Federation was the first country in the world to use VAR in a Women's competition: one week after men's Cup final, in the same stadium, VAR was officially used in a Women's match between Sporting CP and SC Braga.

After the 2016 introduction in cup football in Europe, the VAR system was introduced in top-flight European football league competitions by Bundesliga and the Serie A at the beginning of the 2017–18 season [37] and by La Liga at the beginning of the 2018–19 season. [38] The system was also used at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in October. [39] On 8 January 2018, VAR was trialled for the first time in England in the 2017–18 FA Cup game between Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace, [40] and the following day it was trialled for the first time in France in the Côte d'Azur derby game in the 2017–18 French League Cup. It was said to have worked well. [41]

Italy opened the world's first VAR training centre in Coverciano in January 2018. [42]

The VAR system that is currently used was created by Hawk-Eye Innovations Limited and was tested according to FIFA's Quality Programme by a third party [2] On 3 March 2018, the IFAB wrote VAR into the Laws of the Game on an incorrect basis. [43] Its use remains optional for competitions, and the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League were not expected to implement VAR for their 2018–19 season. [44] However Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore described it as "inevitable" that VAR will be introduced to the Premier League. [45] On 27 September 2018, UEFA announced that from the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League season, VAR will be used in the competition. [46] Although VAR was not implemented in the group stages of the 2018–19 season, UEFA announced on 3 December 2018, that VAR would be used in the knockout stages, which commenced in February 2019. [47]

On 15 November 2018, Premier League teams voted in principle to bring Video Assistant Referees to the Premier League from the 2019–20 season onwards pending approval of IFAB and FIFA; this came after a controversial decision from referee Simon Hooper to disallow a goal scored by Southampton F.C. striker Charlie Austin. [48]

On 1 January 2020, the Emperor's Cup Final was the first Japanese football match to use VAR. This was also a preparation for the introduction of VAR into Olympic football.

In 2023, it was announced that the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time the decision will be explained live in the stadium by the referee. [49] This was also later used in the 2024 A-League finals series and also used in the MLS.

Notable uses of VAR

2018 FIFA World Cup

FIFA officially approved the use of VAR for the 2018 FIFA World Cup during the FIFA Council meeting on 16 March 2018 in Bogotá. [50] [44] [51] [52] This tournament became the first competition to use VAR in full (at all matches and in all venues). [53]

Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal being shown a yellow card after a challenge with an Iranian player that was reviewed by referee Enrique Caceres as a potential red card incident Ronaldo yellow card.jpg
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal being shown a yellow card after a challenge with an Iranian player that was reviewed by referee Enrique Cáceres as a potential red card incident

The 2018 World Cup marked the system's World Cup debut. A total of 335 incidents were checked by the VAR over the course of the group stage, averaging seven per match, and fourteen calls made by referees were changed or overruled after being reviewed by the VAR. According to FIFA, the VAR system had a success rate of 99.3 percent, up from the 95 percent of correct calls by referees without VAR. [54] The first VAR decision at the World Cup came on 16 June 2018 in a group stage match between France and Australia, where referee Andres Cunha awarded a penalty to France after consulting with the VAR. [55] [56] In the final, referee Néstor Pitana used the VAR to review a defensive foul for handling in the penalty area, awarding France a penalty, which gave them a 2–1 lead over Croatia. The final eventually ended with France prevailing 4–2. [57]

The use of VAR has been credited with assisting the 2018 edition's status as the cleanest World Cup since 1986, after no red cards were issued in the opening 11 games and only four players were sent off in the entire tournament which was the fewest since 1978. [58] 22 goals were scored from 29 awarded penalty kicks, beating the previous record of 17 penalty kick goals set in the 1998 tournament; the dramatic increase in the number of penalties awarded at the 2018 World Cup has been attributed to VAR catching fouls which would otherwise have remained unpunished. [59] IFAB technical director and former Premier League referee David Elleray stated a belief that the presence of VAR meant that players would know that they would not be able to get away with anything under the new system. [60]

Criticism

The use of video technology at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup was criticised after several contentious moments involving VAR at the tournament. It was accused of "creating as much confusion as clarity". [61] [62]

Further criticism was leveled at VAR after it suffered issues preventing its use, for example in a Portuguese match where a supporter's flag had been obscuring the VAR camera, [63] [64] or in the 2018 A-League Grand Final between Newcastle Jets and Melbourne Victory where the VAR software suffered a technical malfunction which prevented the assistant referee from viewing the replay, allowing Melbourne Victory to wrongly score the only goal of the game and win the A-League Championship with it. [65] [66]

After the introduction of VAR in the 2018 World Cup, FIFA deemed it a success. Nevertheless, the use (or lack of use) of VAR has been criticised. [67] [68] Independent assessments note that while most decisions were made correctly as a result of VAR, some were wrong despite VAR review and some decisions which were called incorrectly were not even reviewed. [69] [67] There have also been incidents when there has been miscommunication between VAR and the referee, such as Liverpool FC v Tottenham FC in September 2023 which ended up being a crucial mistake after VAR told the referee the wrong decision after they thought the on-field decision was the other way about. [70] The Guardian concludes that VAR has been most effective for factual decisions such as offsides and mistaken identities, while subjective decisions such as penalties or the disciplining of players have fared much worse. Lack of clarity and consistency are two main areas of weakness. [71] In addition, research from the University of Bath found that, on average, "participants thought the ball was kicked 132 miliseconds later than it actually was", [72] proving that the technology at present has issues with accuracy.

Another line of criticism has been targeted at the effectiveness of the system in achieving its goal. In the opinion of Scott Stinson from the National Post, VAR, like any other replay system, fails to correct human error and instead only adds to the controversies because human judgment is still necessary. [73] Human error has significant social causes as well, as a research study done in Italy found that players with darker skin complexion were "more likely to receive punishment for fouls" with all else held constant. [74] Such bias, including unconscious bias, may not be removed entirely by VAR, as it still relies on human judgment to make the final call. [73] .Concerns also arise even with VAR's accuracy. In the 2018-19 Champions League quarterfinals, VAR ruled out a last-minute Manchester City goal against Tottenham due to Agüero’s marginal offside. While technically correct, it highlighted issues with delayed flagging and ultra-tight decisions, leaving City’s fans devastated. [75] [76]

Lack of transparency is another contentious point, as teams have no way to know which incidents were reviewed by the VAR team. [77] At a press conference held after the group stage, FIFA referees committee chairman Pierluigi Collina showed footage of the decision-making process accompanied with audio of the conversations between VAR officials and the referees. Asked if this audio could be made publicly available, as it is in rugby and cricket, Collina answered affirmatively but cautioned that it might still be too early. [78] [79] That said, in an attempt to provide more transparency to fans, sports broadcaster Sky Sports launched the controversial television programme "Match Officials Mic'd Up". Produced by the Premier League, the show aims to bring transparency and constructive discourse to the VAR process, with host Michael Owen and PGMOL Chief Howard Webb analysing VAR calls from previous game weeks. [80]

Others have pointed to the game-changing nature of VAR. There is an increase in the number and duration of pause in the game with VAR system. [81] Initial fears that using the system would lengthen the game considerably have not been confirmed, with every VAR review taking up an average of only 80 seconds. [82] The dramatic increase in the number of penalties awarded at the 2018 World Cup has been attributed to VAR catching fouls which would otherwise have remained unpunished. Of the 169 goals scored in the tournament, 22 were from penalty kicks (with 29 being awarded in total), beating the previous record of 17 set in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. [59] Jonathan Liew of The Independent compares the situation to the introduction of the Decision Review System in cricket and notes the changes it had on that sport, and suggests that it might lead to changes of a similar nature in football. [83]

VAR hasn't just affected the teams that are playing the game. [84] English Premier league fans said that VAR has made the game less enjoyable since the introduction of it and will attend fewer games because of this. [85] The increase in pauses during a game has also been a huge factor with the football fans, with a great number of fans saying that they would most likely support VAR if there was a time limit for the amount of time VAR takes when in use. [86]

Use of VAR has actually been shown to increase playing time in both the first and second half, while not significantly altering the amount of other variable, such as penalties, offsides, fouls, and goals except for a considerable decrease in the number of offsides in Men's football matches, [87] which could be contributed to video analysis being more reliable than human judgement in these scenarios.

In February 2019, UEFA issued guidance which stated that players who made a "TV-screen" hand gesture should result in a yellow card. [88] "Excessively using the 'review' (TV screen) signal" is now listed as a caution for which a player may receive a yellow card in the Laws of the Game. [89] Early uses of VAR in the Premier League, at the beginning of the 2019–20 season, were described as confusing to both coaches and fans with the decision making often inconsistent. [90] By 2022 the application of VAR in the Premier League was still subject to criticism. On 3 September 2022, games involving Chelsea, West Ham United, Newcastle United, Crystal Palace, Brentford and Leeds United all contained contentious VAR decisions. [91]

Premier League officials were criticized for taking lucrative jobs in the Middle East. In the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool on 30 September 2023, the VAR Darren England made a decision that led to the disallowance of a valid goal scored by Luis Diaz. England was alleged of losing focus because he had taken an eight-hour flight back from the United Arab Emirates along with Dan Cook, the assistant VAR. The situation further complicated when it was revealed that England and Cook had been in the UAE to supervise a Pro League game. They reportedly received a payment of £15-20k for this duty. [92]

In VAR matches the assistant referees who decide on offsides are required to avoid raising the flag for an offside decision until the play proceeds to a natural conclusion, unless the offside is extremely obvious. [93] This allows a team who might have been called for an offside offence to instead continue and score a goal to be checked by VAR. When play continues there is the chance of an injury occurring that might not before the introduction of VAR. Team-mates Rui Patricio and Conor Coady collided with each other in a game against Liverpool after a delayed offside call allowed play to continue and Fernando Muslera suffered a double leg break after a collision with opposition striker Milan Škoda following a delayed offside call in December 2021. [94]

The Premier League introduced semi-automated offside technology on 12 April 2025. [95] This technology removes the human error aspect of detecting when the ball has been kicked and placing the lines onto players and to pitch level, making it quicker and more accurate. [96]

Competitions using VAR

Competitions which include VAR confirmed matches are "live" matches, i.e. where the VARs have contact with the referee on the field of play and therefore may have an impact on the decision making. [97]

There is also an idea of implementing VAR in futsal matches. [98]

Club competitions

International

Continental

VAR in use in the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2019 by Cuneyt Cakir Chelsea 0 Valencia 1 (48768869141).jpg
VAR in use in the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2019 by Cüneyt Çakır

Regional

Domestic leagues

Domestic cups

National team competitions

International

VAR in use at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France. VAR mondial 2019.jpg
VAR in use at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France.

Continental

Regional

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Competition proper only
  2. ↑ Knockout stage and the final only
  3. ↑ Final only
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Semi-finals and the final only
  5. 1 2 3 Competition proper only
  6. 1 2 3 Knockout stage and the final only
  7. 1 2 Semi-finals, 3rd place play-off and the final only
  8. ↑ Third qualifying round onwards
  9. ↑ League phase onwards
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Final stage only
  11. ↑ Round of 16 in the play-off round onwards only
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Play-off final only
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Semi-finals and final of the play-off round only
  14. ↑ Semi-finals and final of the play-off round and where requested and paid for by the clubs
  15. ↑ Play-off round only
  16. ↑ Quarter-finals in the play-off round onwards only
  17. 1 2 Promotion play-offs only
  18. ↑ Promotion play-offs and relegation play-outs only
  19. ↑ Liguilla only
  20. ↑ Promotion/relegation play-offs only
  21. ↑ Promotion stage only
  22. ↑ Championship final only
  23. ↑ Only for selected matches
  24. ↑ Play-off finals only
  25. ↑ Only for selected matches
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Quarter-finals until final
  27. ↑ Certain finals only [100]
  28. ↑ Round of 32 ties until the final only
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Final only
  30. ↑ Fifth round ties until the final only
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Round of 8 ties until the final only
  32. ↑ Semi-finals and final as well as UEFA Conference League play-off only (Toto Cup Al)
  33. ↑ Entire tournament bar the preliminary round
  34. ↑ Group stage onwards (Liga I stadiums only)
  35. ↑ Group stage onwards (Russian Premier League path) + selected matches of regions path
  36. ↑ Fourth round onwards, only at Premiership stadiums for televised matches or where agreed, plus the semi-finals and final
  37. ↑ All games (UEFA and CONMEBOL), third round onwards (AFC), third round only (CONCACAF and CAF) and inter-confederation play-offs
  38. ↑ Play-offs only (UEFA) and inter-confederation play-offs
  39. ↑ Quarter-finals onwards
  40. 1 2 3 Final stage only
  41. ↑ Final four only

References

  1. ↑ Amisano, Gianni; Giannini, Carlo (1997). From VAR models to Structural VAR models. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 1–28. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-60623-6_1. ISBN   978-3-642-64481-8 . Retrieved 14 April 2025.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Video Assistant Referee (VAR)". FIFA Inside. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  3. ↑ "Historic step for greater fairness in football". International Football Association Board. 3 March 2018. Archived from the original on 21 July 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  4. ↑ "World Cup 2018: VAR helps tournament reach 10 penalties – so is it working?". BBC Sport . 20 June 2018. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  5. ↑ "EVS Xeebra Replay System Facilitates VAR Implementation for Copa do Brasil Tournament". Sports Video Group. 12 October 2018. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "video assistant referees (vars) Protocol". International Football Association Board. 26 April 2017. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  7. ↑ "VIDEO ASSISTANT REFEREES (VAR)". FIFA. 22 July 2021. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  8. ↑ "VAR at the 2018 FIFA World Cup". FIFA. 22 July 2021. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  9. ↑ "Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Protocol". TheIFAB.com. The International Football Association Board. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  10. ↑ "The Start and Restart of Play". IFAB. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  11. ↑ "Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct". www.thefa.com. The Football Association. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  12. ↑ "So funktioniert der Video-Assistent | Exklusiver Einblick ins Video-Assist-Center in Köln" [So works the Video Assistant | Exclusive insights into the Video Assist Center in Cologne] (in German). German Football Association. 20 February 2019. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  13. ↑ "What to know about MLS's new Video Review Center in Atlanta". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  14. ↑ "VIDEO ASSISTANT REFEREE (VAR) PROTOCOL". IFAB. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  15. ↑ "Video Review: Answering all your Frequently Asked Questions". Major League Soccer. 2 August 2017. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  16. ↑ "VAR: Willian 'dive', Iheanacho goal – how does the system work?". BBC Sport. 18 January 2018. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
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  18. 1 2 "VAR at the 2018 FIFA World Cup". FIFA . Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  19. 1 2 3 Medeiros, João (23 June 2018). "The inside story of how FIFA's controversial VAR system was born". Wired UK . Condé Nast Britain. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  20. ↑ "Minutes of the 130th Annual General Meeting of the International Football Association Board" (PDF). IFAB. pp. 13–17. Archived from the original on 24 April 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  21. ↑ "HET JAAR VAN DE VIDEOSCHEIDSRECHTER (The Year of the Video Referee)". KNVB (Press release). 20 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  22. ↑ Alvarez, Liana (19 August 2016). "MLS makes soccer history with debut of video assistant referees". Sports Illustrated . Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  23. ↑ Williams, Bob (13 August 2016). "Video assistant referees edge closer after successful trial in United States" . The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  24. ↑ Rumsby, Ben (2 September 2016). "Video replays used for first time during France's 3–1 friendly win over Italy as 'football history' made" . The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  25. ↑ "Video replays: Referees to use pitch-side monitors at Fifa's Club World Cup". The Guardian . Reuters. 22 September 2016. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  26. 1 2 Highlights Ajax – Willem II (Min 3:00–4:00). YouTube. KNVB. 22 September 2016. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  27. ↑ "Video replays: Referees to use pitch-side monitors at Fifa's Club World Cup". BBC Sport. 7 December 2016. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  28. ↑ "Hyundai A-League first to use Video Assistant Referees". Hyundai A-League. 3 April 2017. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  29. ↑ "Video Assistant Referee: Australia's A-League uses system during trial". BBC Sport. 8 April 2017. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  30. ↑ "Wellington Phoenix v Sydney FC video, highlights: Sky Blues concede late after VAR call". Fox Sports. 8 April 2017. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  31. ↑ "World first as video assistant referee called into action in Wellington and Sydney FC stalemate". The Guardian. 8 April 2017. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  32. ↑ Borg, Simon (10 December 2016). "MLS will seek to introduce Video Assistant Referees (VAR) during 2017". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  33. ↑ Goldberg, Jamie (14 March 2017). "MLS leads the way among soccer leagues worldwide as it prepares to roll out video replay". The Oregonian . Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  34. ↑ "Video review debuts in MLS, rules out goal in Dallas' first-ever loss to Union". ESPN FC. 5 August 2017. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  35. ↑ Ogden, Mark (2 July 2017). "VAR creates as much confusion as clarity in Confederations Cup final". ESPN . Archived from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  36. ↑ "Russia 2017, VAR praised at closing press conference" (Press release). FIFA. 1 July 2017. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  37. ↑ Kohli, Siddharth (17 August 2017). "VAR: The good, the bad and the ugly". CNN. CNN International. WarnerMedia. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  38. ↑ Casamayor, Jordi; Winterburn, Chris. "LaLiga Santander: Tebas: With VAR, there will be more fairness in football". Marca . Unidad Editorial. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
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