For years, incorrect refereeing decisions have been one of the main talking points in football. Mistakes from on-field officials often cost clubs results, which had a knock-on effect on their seasons. The game’s governing bodies have moved to eradicate these errors by introducing the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
But what is VAR in football? A VAR is a match official who, instead of being on the field of play, is in a room away from the stadium and has access to footage from multiple cameras. Each camera shows a different angle of the action on the pitch, allowing the VAR to thoroughly review incidents like offsides, penalties and red cards and help the referee make a correct decision.
The technology has been a game changer, but when was VAR introduced? How does it work? And what is its success rate? In this ultimate VAR guide, you will find all the information you are looking for surrounding video technology in football.
When was VAR introduced?
The introduction of VAR came in 2016 when FIFA trialled it in a friendly between Dutch rivals PSV and FC Eindhoven. The organisation conducted further trials in a match involving two MLS reserve sides and an international friendly between France and Italy. Later that year, a KNVB Cup tie between Ajax and Willem II used VAR, its first deployment in a competitive fixture.
By 3rd March 2018, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) had officially added VAR to the Laws of the Game.
The 2018 World Cup was the first competition to use VAR in full. A group stage fixture between France and Australia was the scene of the first major VAR review when referee Andres Cunha used the technology to award a penalty to Les Bleus. Since then, VAR has been implemented in similar tournaments like in the UEFA Euros in 2020 and in 2024.
Recent years have seen most top divisions worldwide begin implementing VAR. The Bundesliga and Serie A were among the first major European leagues to use the technology, with others soon following.
| Season | Competition Introducing VAR |
| 2017/18 | Bundesliga |
| Primeira Liga | |
| Serie A | |
| 2018/19 | Eredivisie |
| La Liga | |
| Ligue 1 | |
| Süper Lig | |
| 2019/20 | Champions League |
| Super League Greece | |
| Swiss Super League | |
| Premier League | |
| 2020/21 | Danish Superliga |
| 2021/22 | Austrian Bundesliga |
| Europa League | |
| 2022/23 | Scottish Premiership |
The Championship is yet to introduce VAR. Despite a “VAR Light” version being available, most clubs in England’s second tier are not in favour of bringing in video technology. For that reason, the division is in no rush to bring VAR in, while there are no plans to use it in League One.
Why was VAR introduced?
The main reason why football introduced VAR was to improve the accuracy of officiating in matches. It aimed to cut out clear and obvious mistakes which majorly affect fixtures, with Thierry Henry’s handball against Ireland and Frank Lampard’s goal that never was against Germany listed as prime examples.
When the idea started gaining traction, IFAB secretary Lukas Brud stated: “With all the 4G and Wi-Fi in stadia today, the referee is the only person who can’t see exactly what is happening, and he’s actually the only one who should. We knew we had to protect referees from making mistakes that everyone can see immediately.”
VAR was never seriously considered while Sepp Blatter was FIFA’s president. However, when he left his role in 2015, his successor, Gianni Infantino, accelerated plans to introduce video technology into football. FIFA officials agreed that there had been too many high-profile errors and that the game needed VAR to help referees get a higher percentage of crucial decisions correct.
How does VAR in football work?
So, how does VAR work? VAR technology automatically checks every decision which falls under the review categories. These are:
1. Goals – Checks for any fouls or offsides leading up to a goal. Anything involved in a denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity (DOGSO), like penalty/no penalty and red cards, may be up for video review. The video assistant referees will provide replays of the attacking phase which lead up to the incident. This may include how the attacking team gained possession of the ball in open play.
2. Penalty decisions – Checks whether the awarding of a penalty kick offence is correct and if there are any offences during the build-up (e.g. offside)
3. Direct red card incidents – Checks whether a direct red card is correctly awarded (does not look at second yellow cards leading to a red)
4. Mistaken identity – Checks if the correct player received a yellow or red card
The VAR and assistant VAR in the video operation room begin running checks when an incident relating to one of the above categories occurs on the field. Those operating the technology communicate with the match referee via headsets. They explain what they are checking and, if necessary, encourage officials to change their decision or recommend an on-field review (OFR).
There can only be an OFR if the VAR believes the match officials have made a clear and obvious error. Any decisions that are not subjective (like offside) do not require an OFR – the VAR checks the incident and informs the referee of the outcome.
The review has no time limit and the VAR will show slow motion replays from the best angles to help the official in their decision.
The VAR also steps recommending an OFR when subjective decisions are involved, e.g. serious foul play, handball, offside interferences, etc.
Can referees ignore the VAR?
Yes, the referee can ignore the VAR if they wish. When VAR picks up on potential clear and obvious errors from the officials, they recommend an OFR. The VAR generally recommends OFRs for subjective decisions, such as fouls leading to penalties or red cards, and not for calls like offsides, which are clear-cut.
After the VAR team recommends an OFR, they send the referee to a monitor (aka the referee review area) where they rewatch the incident and can see the angles the VAR can access. Once they have, if they think that their original decision was correct, they can reject the VAR and uphold their call.
Ultimately, VAR advises the on-field officials only, and the match referee always makes the final decision.
What does the VAR not review?
In the Premier League, VAR does not review any incident considered not match-changing. Examples of incidents VAR would not review include:
· Awarding of yellow cards
· Failure to award a yellow card
· Awarding of goal kicks, throw-ins or corners
· Awarding of fouls leading to free kicks
· Handballs outside the penalty area
There are a couple of exceptions. If a referee has awarded a yellow card and the VAR thinks it could have been a red card, they will intervene and advise an OFR. Similarly, if a foul leading to a free kick was a potential red card offence, the VAR advises the referee to check the monitors.
What is the success rate of VAR in football?
IFAB conducted a study to analyse the success rate of VAR in football, starting in March 2016. The study assessed 972 fixtures across the world and concluded that during those matches, VAR interventions helped officials to a major decision accuracy rate of 98.8%. Before the use of the technology, it was 93%.
Meanwhile, according to the Premier League, the success rate for key match decisions during the first season VAR (2019/20) was in use was 94%. That was 12% better than the previous campaign, where there was no VAR, and the success rate was 82%. More than 2,400 incidents were looked at by VAR during 2019/20, with 109 decisions overturned.
Both studies show that VAR has increased officials’ success rate with major match-determining decisions. That means that referees correctly award more goals, penalties and red cards. You can bet on all these occurrences in matches worldwide with BetVictor’s football betting markets.
Is VAR in other sports?
Tennis began using a version of VAR during the 2023 season, with the US Open becoming the first Grand Slam to introduce the technology. Known officially as the Video Review (VR) system, it allows players to challenge decisions like foul shots, double bounces and noise hindrance, with chair umpires able to view footage with various camera angles.
Other sports use technology to help officials, but it is not known as VAR. For example, cricket uses the Decision Review System (DRS), where players can ask for an on-field umpire’s call to be reviewed by the third umpire.
Meanwhile, rugby union uses the Television Match Official (TMO). The TMO is a current or former top-level official who can watch every piece of footage from the game live and, like VAR, alerts the on-field referee to any incidents they have missed.
Can players request a VAR check?
The video assistant referee checks all incidents, so there is no need for players or coaches to request this. In fact, players who unduly make the TV signal can be cautioned and if they enter the Video Operation Room they’ll be sent off.
