Question

Explain the following term in football:

VAR

Answer 1

VAR (Video Assistant Referee) is a technology used in football to help match officials make decisions during games. It involves using video footage and a team of officials watching the game remotely to assess specific situations that occur on the field.

The key aspects of VAR are:

1. Reviewable Incidents: VAR can be used to examine four categories of situations: goals, penalty decisions, direct red card incidents and cases of mistaken identity involving yellow or red cards.
2. Process: When a potentially reviewable incident happens, the match referee can confer with VAR. The VAR staff examines the footage and advises the referee if there has been an obvious error or a serious missed occurrence.
3. On-field Review: In some situations, the referee may choose to check incident footage on a pitch-side monitor before making a final decision.
4. Communication: VAR communication is normally done by a headset system between the match referee and the VAR staff, which is located in a centralised video control room.
5. Decision-Making: The on-field referee always makes the final decision. VAR's purpose is to assist and advise, but the referee retains the ability to make decisions based on their own judgement.