Football, a game bigger than almost every other sport being played in the world, has been for centuries a true patriot of unity and strength. Today, in the era where game is evolving dynamically, technology seems to have a major impact on the way it’s played. And in the mix, Video Assistant Referee or VAR in football, seems to have the largest impact. The invention that has become quite popular with all major football leagues, especially in the last three years.

Here is a look at how VAR in football has touched multiple tangents and how successful has invention been to the game.

What is VAR?

As stated above, VAR is use of video technology in football. However, instead of being on field, the referee sits in the warmth of a room and watches the match over the screen. Moreover, even the room doesn’t have to be in the stadium or anywhere near the facility. For instance, all Premier League VARs are based at Stockley Park, West London.

The very idea of using the VAR is to minimize the number of human errors, but it is also worth noting that VAR doesn’t intervene in every possible decision.

When is VAR Used?

VAR only enters the frame when a ‘clear and obvious error’ is made by referee during the match. To be precise, four match changing decision are reviewed using VAR in football.

Goals: A VAR check after a goal is scored, can be carried to find out if the goal was scored from the offside position. Other than that, goals can be also allowed in cases when the player makes an illegal interference, while the ball is heading inside the goal.

Penalties: One of the most controversial decisions made using VAR is penalties. Using the technology, the spot kick can both be awarded and waived off. The wider concern, however, is that in a certain situation like handball inside the penalty area, two referees may have entirely different view. While one might award the penalty, citing infringement, the other might not.



Red cards: An offense such as tackle can be checked using the VAR, after an official shows the red card or for a foul that is deemed to be harsh in the circumstances. However, to hand out the red card or not has been most controversial this season in the Premier League. Two major instances of which can be pointed out from Chelsea’s matches against Manchester United and Tottenham respectively. In the first match, United’s skipper Harry Maguire kicked Chelsea’s forward Michy Batshuayi in the groin. However, VAR check did not find Maguire guilty of the offense.

During the second incident with Tottenham, after the Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta tackled Giovani Lo Celso, the midfielder stepped on Azpilicueta. And following a lengthy VAR check, Lo Celso was not even booked for his offensive display. However, the officials later apologised for the mistake.

Mistaken Identity: VAR can also be used to rectify the mistake in cases when the referee sends off the wrong player i.e. the one who did not commit the foul.

Impact of VAR in Football

The impact of VAR across leagues has generated different point of views. Interestingly, if that it is positive, negative or neutral, cannot be easily reached upon. Looking at SerieA, Bundesliga, Premier League and LA Liga, as the four big football leagues with VAR in place, the numbers have to be taken into account to comment on the credibility of the source.



Note: The numbers discussed below have taken into consideration that penalty given is penalty scored.

Serie A: Introduced in the 2017/18 season, Italy was among those who nodded positively to adapt the change at the early stage. Taking into count three seasons before the introduction of VAR, 0.24 penalties were scored per match, averaging 8.8 per cent of the total goals scored in the League. However, after the use of VAR the number has slightly risen to 0.275, contributing to 10.1 per cent of the total goals scored.

La Liga: The Spanish league welcomed the technology in the 2018/19 season. During the previous three season without the use of video assistance,7.4 per cent of all the goals were scored from the spot, which minutely rose to 7.8 per cent with the VAR in place.

Bundesliga: Introduced at the same time as Italy, the German league witnessed a fall from 7.6 to 7.4 per cent in the number of penalties scored in the total number of goals, with VAR in place. The sample size for this stat is same as above.

Premier League: VAR in Premier League has be no short of drama. The English league is the latest addition in the list, with introduction made in 2019/20 season. However, only 29 game weeks later, a lot has been said, with a possible argument that the league has become worse with the introduction of the technology. Notably, with Premier League making an introduction, it was expected that the number of penalties and red cards given would increase.

But, sitting at 287 Premier League games with 780 goals scored this season. An average of 2.71 goals has been scored per match. Looking at the penalties, 6.3 percent of the total has been scored from the spot kicks. Taking as many as five seasons before VAR was introduced, 358 penalties were scored, contributing 6.9 percent of the total. Statistically, this drops the number by 0.6 percent with the VAR in place.

So, if it is VAR as whole or just Premier League and its players not able to understand how technological changes can help, the numerical shift anyway suggests that a lot has not changed.

In fact, with technology in place, it is only advantageous in certain situations that a referee can ask for assistance. Also, for two red card instances mentioned above, not technology as a whole can be defamed. It has to be kept in mind that the decisions, even with technology’s help, are made by humans. And therefore, a mistake is bound to happen.

As it looks, VAR is on course to stay associated with the game and do justice to it.