VAR in Soccer
In 2016 International Football Association Board approved testing the video referee system later known as Video Assistant Referee. Behind the “VAR“ is a qualified referee, who is watching the match in real time on screens and can replay these clips, and apply slow-motion, which gives the referee chance to advise the on-field referee. Video Assistant Referees should help to reduce mistakes that impact the outcome of a match. FIFA is currently overseeing VAR, however, its launch was approved by IFAB (International Football Association Board) and FIFA used it later during the World Cup in Russia 2018. (Premier League, 2020)
Interestingly, “in 2018/19, before VAR was introduced, the percentage of correct key match decisions was 82 per cent. With the help of VAR in 2019/20, it rose to 94 percent “. (Premier League, 2020)
The VAR referees are qualified referees and are part of the refereeing team. It is important to understand, that the VAR referee is not the main referee of the game: “VAR is used only for "clear and obvious errors" or "serious missed incidents" in four match-changing situations: goals; penalty decisions; direct red-card incidents; and mistaken identity“. The referee on the field is responsible for the decisions made during the game. (Premier League, 2020)
There are two scenarios when VAR is in action. First is when the field referee asks VAR to check some specific situation. The second scenario is when VAR identifies a clear error and communicates it with the referee on the field. VAR can recommend the overturn of the referee's decision, however, as said before, an on-field referee has always the right to stick to his/her prior decision and is making the final statement. (Premier League, 2020)
The referee can always go to Referee Review Area (RRA) when the referee´s expectation range is different than VAR´s recommendation. Premier League stakeholders decided that during the season 2020/2021 the time spent in RRA should increase. It is important to note that “the FA's retrospective disciplinary process remains for incidents not captured by the match officials or VAR“. VAR is included only in specific scenarios and can pause the game only a few seconds after the incident. (Premier League, 2020)
Did you know that you can get a yellow card for aggressively showing the VAR signal to the referee? What do you think about the VAR?
Resources:
Var - Frequently asked questions. Premier League Live Scores, Stats & Blog. (2020, June 1). Retrieved September 4, 2022, from https://www.premierleague.com/news/1293321
Other resources:
https://www.premierleague.com/VAR/FAQs
https://www.premierleague.com/news/1293198
Video here: https://www.premierleague.com/news/1293250
FIFA Video explaining VAR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdwOL08NfxQ
