By Andrew Warshaw
July 3 – The controversial use of VAR, which had taken something of a backseat amid the enthusiasm of matches getting back under way in the wake of Covid-19, burst into the spotlight again Thursday with one of the most farcical, non-sensical interpretations of the rule ever applied.
June 18 – The Premier League resumed Wednesday night after being struck down by Covid-19, but what on earth happened to VAR?
March 10 – The Dutch FA (KNVB) has staged a video assistant referee (VAR) technology test event en route to the 2022 World Cup with a focus on fine-tuning the technology and making it more affordable.
March 4 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has added his voice to the growing confusion over VAR saying something has to be done to make it more palatable to the average fan.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 2 – Football’s lawmakers have agreed to undertake a major review the offside law in order to “foster the spirit of attacking play” but no changes will happen for a year and little has otherwise been done to appease the growing clamour for tweaks to the VAR system.
February 28 – It’s not VAR per se that’s at fault, it’s the law itself that’s an ass. That’s the argument often churned out by the experts whenever goals are wiped out by the video assistant referee because of marginal offside decisions such as the width of a toe.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 24 – When is VAR not VAR? When the system itself admits it has made a mistake!
February 18 – Former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, now FIFA’s head of global development, is pushing for the offside rule to be tweaked in time for this summer’s Euro 2020 finals in response to a spate of VAR controversies this season.
February 19 – Morocco has become the first African country to use VAR in a top-flight league game.
February 18 – Another Premier League fixture, another headline-making VAR controversy, this time in favour of Manchester United after not one, but two Chelsea ‘goals’ were ruled out in Monday’s high-profile clash in the race for the top four.
February 10 – The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system is not being used properly in some countries according to FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
February 5 – The English Premier League has vowed to improve the standards of VAR after a plethora of baffling and inconsistent decisions throughout the season.
January 23 – UEFA is tendering for solutions to fulfil four key technology service areas for its competitions from 2021, including men’s and women’s club and national team competitions.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 31 – Football’s law-makers have hit back at criticism of VAR by English football experts, saying the problem lies directly at the feet of the Premier League for not applying the rule correctly.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 30 – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola declared the VAR system a “big mess” on Sunday after a weekend that witnessed a plethora of ever more baffling rulings being judged on a series of screens often hundreds of miles away from the action.