Lawmakers to allow VAR to ruin the 2018 World Cup as controversial tech set to get the nod for Russia
Divisive video assistance blamed for slowing down matches and being used too often but others say game should embrace modern age
Football’s law-making body on Saturday was set to approve the use of video assistant referee technology (VAR) at this summer’s World Cup, overriding purists concerned about technology disrupting the game.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) meeting in Zurich is widely expected to rubber-stamp the move already backed by FIFA’s top brass, including president Gianni Infantino.
VAR can only be used when there is doubt surrounding any of four key game-changing situations: after a goal, penalty decisions, after a straight red card or in cases of mistaken identity.
VAR isn’t in the last chance saloon but it’s not happy hour yet.
Column ahead of @TheIFAB meeting when video replays should enter football laws. World Cup approval comes later https://t.co/crm7cbauQ3 pic.twitter.com/UH9CcZvo2O— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) 2 March 2018
It has already been implemented in top European leagues including the German Bundesliga and Italy’s Serie A – along with tests in multiple other leagues – but opinion is still divided.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said this week that European football’s governing body would not introduce VAR in next season’s Champions League due to ongoing “confusion” surrounding its use.
Others have voiced concern about video assistance being used too often, slowing down the game and possibly breaking a team’s momentum.
That is an issue confronting major North American sports like baseball and American football, where different forms of video replay have been in use for several years and where calls to shorten match length have risen.
