In modern football, VAR has become an important part in supporting referees to decide situations on the field. The VAR system was first used in major tournaments such as the 2018 World Cup, and since then it has quickly become a pioneering technology in football. Here is detailed information about what is var in football? Let’s find out with Bestsoccertips.com!
What is var in football?
What does var in football mean? VAR (short for Video Assistant Referee) is responsible for assisting football referees in making decisions in specific situations of the match.
To do this, camera systems will be installed around the field or high above the stands to record situations during the match. At the 2018 World Cup, the host country Russia used up to 33 different cameras, including 8 slow-motion cameras and 6 super slow-motion cameras, at each stadium. The system also retrieves information from two cameras dedicated to offside detection, which are arranged to specifically support the assistant referee team.
At the Asian Cup, VAR was installed at four venues for the quarter-final matches, including Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai (Vietnam – Japan match), Zayed Sports City Stadium, Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi and Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.
In what situations is VAR used?
After learning about what does var mean in football?, VAR is used in four situations including the use of VAR technology:
- First, to recognize or not recognize a goal, such as when the referee does not observe clearly, or a team complains about a goal scored due to offside, handball… VAR was applied in the quarter-final match on the evening of January 24 when the referee watched VAR and denied the Japanese team’s goal due to handball.
- Second, to decide whether to award a penalty to the Japanese team or not. Also in the Vietnam – Japan match last night, the Japanese team was awarded a penalty after the referee reviewed the video recording of the collision. The area inside the penalty area is where VAR is used the most because it is related to the referee’s decision to blow the penalty.
- Third, mistaken identity. Referees sometimes misidentify players on the field and may draw the wrong card. In this case, the referee team in the VAR room can contact the main referee to notify and correct.
- Fourth, direct red cards. In violent situations that lead to direct red cards, the referee can review to make the right decision.
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How does VAR work?
The assistant referees, including a video referee and three referee advisors, will sit in an observation room away from the stadium. They watch slow-motion video of incidents that have just occurred and communicate with the referee via wireless headsets, giving advice on special situations.
A typical scenario for using VAR is that the on-field referee receives a message from the video referee about a situation that has just been missed. He will pause the match to review the video and make a decision.
In addition, the referee considers a situation on the field and signals by drawing a rectangle. When the video referee sees the signal, he will re-evaluate the situation and communicate via headset to the referee.
How controversial is VAR technology?
The application of technology in football has encountered both support and opposition from the very first days. In the situation leading to the penalty in the match between Vietnam and Japan on January 24, many Internet users expressed dissatisfaction. They said that VAR was used for the referee to review the situation that had just occurred. However, it should be done immediately, not wait more than a minute later.
British journalist Alex Brotherton wrote on Twitter: “VAR should not be used in this situation. It should only be applied to completely wrong decisions by the main referee. If it were used to correct every mistake of the referee, the match would be constantly interrupted.”
Previously, at the 2018 World Cup, VAR was also criticized for ignoring the foul in the goal of the Swiss player against Brazil, or when the referee did not award a penalty even though Harry Kane was knocked down by a Tunisian defender in the penalty area…
Many people think that VAR ruins football, reducing the appeal of the match. On the contrary, many people think that VAR brings fairness to football. It changes the way players play because fouls, dirty plays or offsides will be fully recorded by the camera, making players more cautious and less dirty. Also at last year’s World Cup, thanks to VAR, the diving of Brazilian player Neymar failed.
”I like VAR, because referees always have to make difficult decisions. We should welcome anything that can make the referee’s job easier”, player Cristiano Ronaldo once said.
In Summary
In short, VAR has improved fairness and accuracy in football, but also brought some disadvantages such as interruptions, delays, and the possibility of controversy. After understanding what is var in football, we hope you will have a more objective view of this technology in sports. Thank you for following our article!
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