VAR to be used at Russia World Cup
Video Assistant Referee will be used at a World Cup for the first time, after FIFA approved proposals to implement it in Russia this summer.
FIFA's council met on Thursday in Bogota to discuss proposals to introduce VAR for this summer's World Cup in Russia.
On Friday it was announced that the council had ruled to give the system the green light for the tournament, with the FIFA president stating that VAR gives referee a tool to make 'better decisions'.
VAR will be used to judge whether or not a goal has been scored, analyse whether a penalty should be awarded, decide on red cards and rectify if a player has been mistakenly sanctioned.
"We are going to have in 2018, for the first time, a World Cup with VAR," Gianni Infantino, the president of the organisation, stated. "This has been approved and we are really very happy with this decision."
"We need to live with the times. We wanted to give the referees tools so that they can make better decisions, and in the World Cup some very important decisions are made."
"It's not possible that in 2018 everyone in their living room knows a few seconds after the play whether a referee has made a mistake and the referee doesn't."
"I was sceptical at first, but without trying you cant know what it's worth," Infantino continued.
"Without VAR, a referee can make one important mistake every three matches. With VAR, the figures we have seen from the trials that have been held show that a big mistake is made once every 19 matches."
The VAR system is currently on trial in FA Cup and League Cup games in England, but will not be introduced in the Premier League next season. The French Ligue 1 has decided to implement the system for the 2018/19 season, while the Bundesliga is set to make a decision about its use in late March.
Much discussion and controversy has surrounded the introduction of the technology, with many arguing that it disrupts the flow of the game. UEFA's president, Aleksander Ceferin, has already ruled that the Champions League will not be using VAR next season. "Nobody knows exactly how VAR will work. There is already a lot of confusion," Ceferin said.
A total of 36 referees, plus their teams of assistants, are being trained by FIFA for World Cup duty, and the organisation will now look for a sponsor for video review at the tournament.