BEVERLY HILLS, February 03, (THEWILL) – The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has approved the use of video assistant referees (VAR) for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
IFAB announced the decision on Saturday after its 132nd annual general meeting saying it also approved the use of a fourth substitute in extra-time.
“The International Football Association Board (The IFAB) unanimously approved the use of video assistant referees (VARs) at its 132nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) that took place at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich today,” a statement released by IFAB read.
“This landmark meeting, chaired by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, represents a new era for football with video assistance for referees helping to increase integrity and fairness in the game.
“Prior to taking its decision, the members of The IFAB (the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as FIFA, representing all other national football associations) were presented with the results of the independent analysis of the use of VARs conducted by Belgian university KU Leuven since the beginning of the VAR experiment in March 2016.
“The philosophy of VARs is ‘minimum interference – maximum benefit’ which aims to reduce unfairness caused by ‘clear and obvious errors’ or ‘serious missed incidents’ in relation to:
1. Goal / no goal
2. Penalty / no penalty
3. Direct red card (not 2nd yellow card/caution)
4. Mistaken identity (when the referee cautions or sends off the wrong player of the offending team).”
THEWILL recalls that VAR was used at the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017 and is already in use in the England F.A Cup.
