VAR - Everything You Need To Know

This season's Premier League matches is involved with decisions from the Video Assistant Referees (VAR). 

Lots of controversies have been raised on how certain decisions went in games which negatively affected atmospheres through arguments and misunderstanding on how the system works. Others have lost hope in the beauty of the game with assessment that football is ruined by the technology.

Premier League Champion Alan Shearer has provided simple video guides to help fans understand how the system works in the Premier League as it's employment is overseen by a qualified referee, via screens at the VAR Hub at Stockley Park in west London.

In a series of videos on the Premier League's VAR section, Shearer explains how the VAR monitors the matches and been used only for "clear and obvious errors" or "serious missed incidents" in four match-changing situations:

 

Goals

All goals scored in the Premier League will automatically be checked by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

They will check for any infringements by the attacking team in the attacking possession phase that led to the goal.

For factual decisions such as offside or the ball being out of play, the VAR will inform the referee, who will overturn any award of a goal.

For subjective decisions such as a foul or a handball, VAR can be used to overturn if a “clear and obvious error” has been identified.

The referee will explain his decision to the VAR and what he has seen.

If the evidence provided by the broadcast footage does not accord with what the referee believes he has seen, then the VAR can recommend an overturn.

The final decision will remain with the on-field referee.

 

Penalty Decision

All penalties awarded in the Premier League will automatically be checked by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), who will also check for possible penalties not given by the on-field referee.

For penalties awarded the VAR will check for any infringements by the attacking team in the attacking possession phase that led to the penalty as well as the incident for which the penalty was awarded.

For factual decisions such as offside or the ball being out of play in the build-up, the VAR will inform the referee, who will overturn any penalty awarded.

For subjective penalty decisions, such as for a foul or for a handball, the VAR will look to identify a “clear and obvious error”.

The referee will explain his decision to the VAR and what he has seen.

If the evidence provided to the VAR by the broadcast footage does not accord with what the referee believes he has seen, then the VAR can recommend an overturn.

The final decision will remain with the on-field referee.

If a penalty decision is overturned with no infringement by the attacking team, play will restart with an uncontested drop ball for the defending team.

 

Red Cards

All red cards awarded in the Premier League will automatically be checked by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

The VAR will also check for possible red-card incidents for which the on-field referee has awarded a yellow card or no card at all.

The VAR will look to identify a “clear and obvious error”.

The on-field referee will explain his decision to the VAR and what he has seen.

If the evidence provided to the VAR by the broadcast footage does not accord with what the referee believes he has seen, then the VAR can recommend an overturn.

The final decision will remain with the on-field referee.

For possible red-card incidents unseen by the match officials, the VAR has a short window to intervene.

If the ball is in play, VAR has until the next re-start of play.

If the ball is out of play, VAR has until the second restart of play.

For incidents not captured by the match officials or VAR, The FA’s retrospective disciplinary process remains.

The VAR will not intervene for an incident where a second yellow card leads to a red card, unless the VAR believes the second yellow card should be upgraded to a red. 

 

Mistaken Identity

In the event that the on-field referee awards a yellow or red card to the wrong player, or is unsure of the player to award it to, the VAR will advise the referee as to the correct player to be disciplined.