What Does Var Stand For in Football?

What does VAR stand for in football? VAR has only been used in competitive club football in England for under two weeks, but it has already caused plenty of controversy and talking points.

The FA Cup third-round tie between Brighton and Crystal Palace was the first to use VAR and largely went by without incident, but the new system has been called into question in subsequent matches. Argentina qualify for knock-out stages with Poland joining them in a thrilling group finale

The FA Cup third round replay between Chelsea and Norwich saw three players booked for diving, with two of them eventually sent off, but there was much debate over some of these decisions and BBC pundit Alan Shearer labeled the VAR system ‘a shambles’.

The hope is for VAR to help referees with contentious decisions on the pitch such as goals, penalty decisions, offsides, and mistaken identity.

The system works with video officials watching the games from the headquarters of Premier League Productions in west London, while the on-field referee will have a screen at the side of the pitch to review certain incidents.

What does VAR stand for in football?

VAR stands for Video Assistant Referees and so far it has been used competitively in domestic cup competitions in England.

There are still issues surrounding the overall implementation of the system and the speed at which it is being conducted.

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was unhappy that Willian was not awarded a penalty and booked for diving against Norwich after he felt the Brazilian was fouled.

Conte is a supporter of the system but said VAR must be improved in future instances.

‘I think that we need to improve if we want to use this new system,’ Conte said.

‘Today in this game there is a very clear situation with Willian. I think the situation was very clear and I watched and it’s a penalty, very clear.’

However, there have been instances where it has worked, with Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho making history by becoming the first player to benefit from the use of VAR.

His second goal in a 2-0 victory was initially disallowed for offside, before being awarded 67 seconds after it hit the net.

How does VAR work?

VARs and other match officials are able to recommend reviews, but the only person who can initiate one is the referee, who will then have the final say.

FIFA has provided a guideline below:

Step 1: Incident occurs

The referee informs the VARs, or the VARs recommend to the referee that a decision/incident should be reviewed.

Step 2: Review and advice by VARs

The video footage is reviewed by the VARs, who advises the referee via headset on what the video shows.

Step 3: Decision or action is taken

The referee decides to review the video footage on the side of the field of play before taking the appropriate action/decision, or the referee accepts the information from the VARs and takes the appropriate action/decision.

When can VAR be used?

VAR can only intervene in a match when the officials have made a ‘clear and obvious error’ involving either a goal, penalty, straight red card, or mistaken identity. The system has been restricted to those four areas to minimize breaking the flow of the game. In terms of a ‘clear and obvious error’, there has been some confusion about the definition.

For example, if a player scored after a marginal offside decision, VAR would still deem that a clear and obvious decision because either a player is offside or they are not – it is categoric, not subjective. Not all decisions are like that, however, with many penalties or red card decisions being subjective and coming down to human interpretation. That is one of the main criticisms of VAR at this stage.

Conclusion – What does VAR stand for in football?

The video assistant referee (VAR) is a match official in association football who reviews decisions made by the referee. If you want to read more useful content like this one, follow Football Terms now!