Video Assistant Referee

The article is part of Tech glossary #3 posts for https://blocsport.one

There is a lot going on around VAR which, for good, became part of the game. Tested for several years in European leagues, finally, it was written into the rules of the game by IFAB in 2018. It came a long way to get where it is now. Many remember tests during 2017 Confederation Cup where almost every time referee was going to the sideline monitor to check. That prolonged the game forever. Since then, many updates were introduced and the main referee almost never checks VAR himself but relies on the opinion of others. 

VAR proves to be effective #tech solution in cases it covers (and it doesn't cover all decisions). VAR will not measure every aspect of the game but only 4: 

- goal / no goal 

- penalty / no penalty

- straight red card

- missed ID when giving red card (although it happens very rarely)

The goal, no goal decision measures not only the moment of scoring but the entire action preceding it. As an example, if there was a foul on the player and counter-attack after which the team scored the goal - no goal should be awarded.

VAR became popular in several leagues including EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga and many others (31 leagues in total this season) and during continental and international competition. 

VAR can be controlled from the central studio where all referees watch the game, it can also consist of mobile units delivered to the stadium. There were situations (e.g. in Polish Ekstraklasa) where there were not enough units to cover the games and technology had to be dropped (e.g. last round when games are played concurrently).

VAR is not 100% bulletproof because with certain decisions it relies on referees analysing the game and making the judgement. However, it gives an opportunity for extra analysis so the final decision becomes mostly correct. The best judgement comes where pure analytics can be applied, for instance, goal decision based on the yes or no offside.

In the same way, analytics is ruthless and offside / no offside decisions can be tough and simply cruel. As an example, this season win for Crystal Palace against West Ham was awarded after a thorough 5-minute analysis of Jordan Ayew offside and judged that he wasn't by inches (lines were applied on the screen and tip of the other player's foot decided).

VAR seems to reduce bad decisions to almost zero, but some argue it kills the game. Some players complain they can't celebrate after the goal because they are never sure if it was scored correctly.

Tech anyone?

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