January 8 – Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology makes its long-awaited debut in English football tonight when Brighton face Crystal Palace in the last of the FA Cup third-round fixtures.
It will also be used in the upcoming two-leg League Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Arsenal and in the final of that competition next month.
The system was first deployed in an official match in the UK for England’s goalless friendly draw against Germany in November although it was not called on by the referee. It has been widely used across Europe but not, so far, in any English competitive game.
Despite widespread concern about the consistency of VARs and complaints about wrong rulings, football’s lawmakers are poised to recommend giving the system the go-ahead from next season when they meet for their delayed interim business meeting on January 22 ahead of the full annual International FA Board meeting in early March.
VARs can only be used in four match-changing situations – goals, penalty decisions, straight red cards and cases of mistaken identity by the referee.
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