European football’s refereeing chiefs have declared that video assistant referees have strayed too far from their original purpose, demanding a return to interventions only for “blatantly incorrect” decisions.
Chief refereeing officers from all 55 European national football associations met last week with Uefa officials and a representative from the International Football Association Board (Ifab) to address recent changes to the game’s laws. Attendees said “lengthy, microscoping reviews” indicate VAR has gone beyond its original scope.
“European refereeing officials agree VAR must only intervene for 'blatantly incorrect' decisions, not re-referee games.”
When VAR was added to the laws in 2018, Ifab’s philosophy was “minimum interference – maximum benefit”, with the intention of reducing “unfairness caused by clear and obvious errors or serious missed incidents”. Uefa said refereeing bosses agreed a return to those original aims is needed.
“It was reiterated that, in accordance with protocol, VAR must only intervene in situations of ‘clear and obvious’ error, ie. when a referee decision is blatantly incorrect or when the referee has missed a clear incident,” Uefa said in a statement. “VAR is not meant to re-referee the game, it is an essential support to the referees, who must remain at the centre of all decision-making.”
Uefa added that “lengthy, microscoping reviews are often a symptom revealing that the decision on the field was not clearly and obviously incorrect, and should therefore be limited.”
Officials also acknowledged a recent clarification from Ifab around the “mistaken identity” rule introduced before this summer’s World Cup. That rule says if a player is booked or sent off but the foul was committed by the opposition team, the decision can be changed. Switzerland’s Breel Embolo was the first player sent off as a result of the new law after a controversial second yellow card for simulation against Argentina; Leandro Paredes originally received a yellow card for his challenge before VAR intervened. Ifab clarified that VAR can only review cautions to “identify the player who committed the offence that was penalised, not to review or alter the offence”.
There was also “unanimous support” for rule changes designed to reduce unnecessary delays, including time limits on goal-kicks, throw-ins and substitutions, and new regulations around on-field injuries and goalkeeper tactical timeouts.
BBC Sport chief football news reporter Simon Stone said the statement of intent “sounds positive”, pointing to Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal as an example of the kind of clear error VAR should catch. The question remains whether fans, many of whom have grown to hate VAR, will see a genuine change on the pitch.