NO EXCUSES AS VAR SET FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DEBUT

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has warned that there will be no more excuses as Video Assistant Referees (VAR) make their debut in the Champions League starting this week.

The system which was used during last year’s FIFA World Cup, and is now widely called upon in most of Europe’s leading leagues, was initially set to be rolled out in the Champions League from the start of next season. However, it will now make its debut six months earlier than anticipated.

“If we can do it before, why not” pondered Ceferin of an initiative which had been opposed by his predecessor, Michel Platini.

Roberto Rosetti, UEFA’s chief refereeing officer, told a briefing on its use in Rome last week that while “impossible to achieve the right decision 100 percent of the time” they were convinced it would “provide valuable help to match officials and reduce incorrect decisions”.

Rosetti said the Video Assistant Referee would intervene for “clear mistakes” in the four match-changing situations for which it has been used elsewhere: goals, penalty decisions, straight red cards and cases of mistaken identity.

Of coaches from the 16 teams invited only those from Juventus, Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain, Roma and Schalke attended, with the others sending “assistants, other staff or even marketing people,” said Ceferin.

“For me it’s not only a lack of respect for Roberto Rosetti’s team and the UEFA organisation, but the influence of coaches is huge and if they complain about being refereed they should at least come and see what the experts say about the use of VAR,” Ceferin said.

“Now they do not have any excuses, especially the ones that did not even come.”