Football

Premier League VAR guide: Everything you need to know as technology takes centre stage


The VAR revolution will start in the Premier League at Anfield tonight and be used in all of the 380 games in the top flight. The key phrase is: minimum interference, maximum impact.

Eighteen stadiums will use giant screens not only to show that a VAR review is taking place but also replay the incident so that fans can see. Old Trafford and Anfield are the exceptions because they do not have giant screens.

But, according to former Premier League referee and VAR overlord Neil Swarbrick, English football will have a “higher threshold” than European football so the Moussa Sissoko penalty in the Champions League final and Manchester United ’s penalty at PSG would not be given.

Swarbrick said: “I honestly think we’re in a relatively good position in the Premier League. The European interpretation is different to ours.

“The perception out there is too many stoppages and it will stop the flow of the Premier League. But the important thing is that the refs go out there, do their day job with the safety net of the VAR.

Mirror Football’s John Cross was given a tour of the VAR studios

“The threshold is higher. It’s different interpretations of the IFAB laws. The different variations we’ve got we hope will stop the long stoppages and the long reviews with the screen.”

Premier League refs have been encouraged not to constantly check the touchline screens which cause long delays and the average time for a goal review is now 84 seconds which gives players time to celebrate and return to kick-off. The average time without VAR was 60 seconds.

So, here is the simple guide to what will be reviewed (and if it does not fall into these categories it will not be checked):

VAR in action during the Women’s World Cup

Goals

The VAR will be running in the background all of the time so every goal will be checked – whether or not the screen says so.

Penalties

Every penalty will be monitored. Refs have been encouraged not to check the touchline screens. They did a trial run at SGP for nine youth tournaments. After plenty of stops in the first two, they were encouraged not to check so much – and it was used just once in the next seven.

Liverpool’s penalty for handball by Moussa Sissoko in the Champions League final wouldn’t have stood under Premier League VAR rules

Direct red cards

Only red cards will be checked and this will not include second yellows. The VARs and referees will form regular teams – but the referee’s decision will be final.

Mistaken identity

Pretty straightforward this one. But don’t forget, if VAR and the officials miss something, the FA’s “not seen” process can still intervene with retrospective bans.

Red card incidents will be checked by VAR – but this will not include second yellows

Read More

Mirror Football’s Top Stories

Things to watch out for

VAR is only used on “clear and obvious errors” or “serious missed incidents.” So, if a referee sees an incident and explains why he came to that decision… then it is hard to overturn it.

Offside flags

Play to the whistle! If it’s obvious, the flag will go up. If it’s contentious, play must continue, there will be no flag and only after the goal will the VAR review the goal.





READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.