VAR in football under question

The institution of VAR is going through an existential… crisis, as the video referee system as we learned six years ago, when we first saw it in use at the 2018 World Cup, is about to change drastically, at a time when it is also at risk of… exclusion from its top league world.

The key factor in football, the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, announced yesterday during the 74th session of the international football federation in Thailand that a reform of VAR is imminent with significant changes in its use, which will be somewhat reminiscent of … volleyball and tennis.

During the meeting in Bangkok, the Italo-Swiss leader of the world federation said that “we intend to develop and improve VAR”, explaining the directions in which the reform of the system is expected to move. And he revealed the following: “A more basic technology has been created, with fewer cameras and therefore more affordable for everyone, which is now being tested.”

The world football powerhouse did not explain whether less or more human intervention will be needed in the new, smaller VAR, given the use of so-called “semi-automated offside” already, at a time when artificial intelligence is making leaps and bounds from week to week.

Infantino: We intend to develop and improve the system.

However, Infantino also gave a new dimension to the future use of the system: “The coaches of the teams will be able, in consultation with their players, to request the assistance of the VAR in two cases”, he emphasized, recalling the system applied in volleyball , as he explained, “in any case of justification, they will be able to have one more appeal to VAR”. Accordingly, tennis players have the right of appeal for disputed phases in the Hawk Eye system, which has greatly facilitated the sport of tennis.

At the same time, after all, VAR is under fire from many who believe that the system is so flawed that it is better off not being used to referee football. Thus, after Sweden rejected the application of VAR in contrast to 65 other national federations (by Infantino’s own count), the institution of the video referee is now being questioned in England as well.

On Wednesday, Wolves lodged a formal request to scrap the phase review system via televised images, and the issue will be discussed at the next meeting of the Premier League’s 20 clubs on June 6. If Wolves’ request wins the support of a further 13 clubs (that’s 14 out of 20) VAR will be abolished from the new season in England, which starts in August.

However, the BBC estimates that the abolition proposal will be rejected, in fact already talking about Liverpool and three more clubs who oppose the abolition. Seven are enough to vote against it.

Source: Daily