Five basic principles to make VAR a success

#2 The A in VAR stands for assistant

Referees need all the help they can get

This technology is not here to replace referees, but to assist them in their decision making. When a referee is asked to make consistently correct decisions in a game between 22 players for 90 minutes it becomes a difficult task. When you add into the mix that every player is out to gain any advantage through bending, and occasionally defying the rules of the game, the difficult job can almost become impossible.

The VAR technology needs human interaction to work effectively, and while it will show the facts of the matter, it will always be open to interpretation.

Therefore, we still have to trust the referees, because even with the images in front of them, incidents can be viewed in a number of different ways. Having too many match officials on duty only adds to the range of opinions that will be offered, and the element of seniority again rears its head in the decision making process as a result.

As explained in the opening point, match officials must trust each other to make the right call in their own opinion from the information available, with VAR serving only as an assistant in the entire process.