Football Language: Video Assistant Referee (VAR)
This week saw the trialling of a new technology in football that FIFA hopes will be used in more of its tournaments in the near future: the video assistant referee or VAR. In football there are, of course, many controversial moments thanks mainly to the fluidity and speed of the game making refereeing decisions difficult indeed. In recent times an increasing amount of technology has come into the game including goal-line technology in the Premier League and now FIFA are trying out the idea of a video assistant referee (VAR). Much like sports such as NFL, cricket, rugby and tennis the technology will aid referees with difficult decisions including goals, penalty decisions, red-card incidents and wrongful identity. Of course, this technology has not come without some controversy with those opposing it saying that it stops the flow of the game but surely anything to make a referee’s life easier has to be welcomed.A Video assistant referee (VAR)
- Example: The French manager Didier Deschamps was in favour of the new technology even though his side had a goal disallowed and the Spanish opponents had a goal re-instated. He said: ‘a€œIf it is verified and it is fair, why not [use VAR]?a€
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Example: ‘France foiled by video assistant referee in defeat against Spain’ (Headline from www.guardian.com)
Links
- FIFA’s website explains the VAR here
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What do you mean by ‘wrongful identity’ here in the text?
Hi Marko,
If a referee is unable to spot or clearly see a player then he or she may ask for help from the VAR (i.e. which player to book, for example). Hope that helps.
Damian