VAR is not perfect but will prevent scandals, Fifa says
Technology not 100 per cent right, admits official Serious foul play will be ‘impossible to miss’
The men in charge of video technology at the World Cup yesterday admitted it would not be “perfect” ahead of the official debut of one of the biggest and most controversial changes to how football is played.
Video assistant referees will become a permanent feature of the game from tomorrow when Russia kick off the sport’s flagship tournament against Saudi Arabia – whether it is ready for it or not.
Two years of global trials plagued by teething problems provoked a major backlash against VAR but that failed to deter Fifa from making the World Cup the first event to use it since changes to the Laws of the Game came into effect this month, allowing decisions to be overturned using video replays.
The Premier League refused to follow suit, voting against introducing VAR next season, with Uefa also postponing its use in the Champions League and Nations League. That has compounded fears it could throw the World Cup into chaos and ruin a tournament on which the eyes of virtually every nation will be fixed for the next 4½ weeks.
Declaring that technology would signal the end of the “scandals of the past”, Fifa’s referees chiefs nevertheless acknowledged yesterday that it was by no means a panacea.
Massimo Busacca, the governing body’s director of refereeing, said: “I don’t think that it will be perfect. We ran very fast to implement this system. We had to understand what to improve. At the beginning, it was not so clear, but we said yes to VAR because we think we are ready.
“We will not be perfect but we are looking for uniformity and consistency. But it cannot be 100 per cent. It will always be a human interpretation. I am sure and convinced that the scandals of the past we will not see again. You can write about how long it takes. But that is peanuts compared to the correct results of the games.”
It was announced yesterday that assistant referees had been told not to raise their flag in tight offside calls to enable VAR to make the right decision, which raises the prospect of more goals being scored and then chalked off. But Busacca insisted Fifa had learnt from the mistakes and delays that marred the testing phase, including during the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. Busacca said: “Thanks to Italy, Portugal, France, to all the member associations who started with VAR and permitted us to understand what should be improved.”
Speaking at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, Busacca demonstrated how VAR would be used to impose a major crackdown on player behaviour at the tournament.
The Swiss revealed the video briefing that all 32 teams had been given about the offences which match officials had been instructed to take a zero-tolerance approach to this summer. The footage focused on serious foul play, denial of goalscoring opportunities, shirt-pulling, diving, mass brawls and dissent.
“This will be impossible to miss – impossible,” Busacca said, warning each match would be followed by “35 cameras”.
“VAR will be, if players understand it, an incredible way of preventing things from happening.”
Warning refereeing mistakes at World Cups “can change a lot, can change history”, he added: “We know this cannot be an experiment. We have to be ready and we are positive we are ready. The referees believe they can take important decisions alone.
“We are not doing the World Cup with only VAR. VAR will be a big support but we played the game for more than 100 years without it.”
One of the biggest complaints about VAR – which can only be used for goals, penalties, straight red cards and cases of mistaken identity – has been that match-going fans have been left in the dark when decisions are being reviewed.
To prevent that, Fifa will show footage of every overturned decision on the big screen at stadiums.
Pierluigi Collina, the chairman of its referees committee, also warned match officials would not hesitate to abandon a game at the World Cup if there was persistent racism in the stands. If racism occurs there will initially be a warning issued over the public address before a game was suspended or called off, and Collina said: “If something should happen, there is a clear procedure – the three steps procedure. The referees know it very well. And, of course, they are ready to go through it when needed.”
Video team to wear full kit
Video assistant referees will wear the same uniform as the match officials during the World Cup despite sitting for the entirety of games.
Massimo Busacca, the governing body’s director of refereeing, said: “We discussed this. We are referees. We have to feel the game because they have to make an interpretation. You need to remember you are referees, and the best way to do that is to wear the kit.”
Pierluigi Collina, chairman of Fifa’s referees committee, said there was also a practical reason behind the decision. “The VAR officials are sweating, believe me,” he said. “They can’t go dressed like a clerk with a jacket and tie. It is impossible. They are doing something that is stressful.”