The use of Video Assistant Referees (VAR) has largely become the norm worldwide. However, at lower levels or smaller tournaments, the absence of VAR has become a notable feature. On most other occasions, VAR is ubiquitous as long as funds are available. Although VAR is operated by humans and mistakes are inevitable, major misjudgments are not rare. However, new problems are emerging with it. Referees and side judges have become increasingly reliant on VAR, and their professional judgment seems to be diminishing, with key decisions in matches relying more and more on the aid of VAR, a phenomenon that has sparked widespread controversy. Recently, news about VAR's influence to be further expanded has been spreading, signaling that referees' reliance on VAR will also increase.
According to the Times, one of the topics of the upcoming meeting of the IFA Council will be to discuss whether the power and application of VAR in the game should be extended. Currently, VAR is mainly used for red cards, penalties and goal-related penalties, which often have a direct impact on the trend of the game. Once a referee has made a misjudgment on the field, the role of VAR becomes particularly important to ensure that these types of fatal mistakes do not happen again. The FIFA Council is considering extending VAR's remit to free kicks, corners and second yellow card decisions.
Corners and free kicks have the potential to be directly converted into goals, while a second yellow card may trigger a red card, indirectly affecting the course of the match. Nevertheless, penalties directly related to goals have a more significant impact on the outcome of the match. If VAR's involvement in penalties such as free kicks and corners increases, the number of interruptions in the game will subsequently increase and the duration of the match is likely to be lengthened. Especially in matches with a high number of free kicks and corners, the number of VAR interventions may exceed 10 or even 20. However, if only goals and related yellow card penalties are considered, VAR interventions will be more concentrated.
If corners, free kicks and second yellow cards are brought under the purview of VAR, incorrect penalties will be corrected, thereby avoiding undue influence on the outcome of the match. However, this could also lead to an increase in the number of interruptions in the game, an increase in the length of the game and communication problems between VAR and the referee, which in turn could affect the consistency of the game. In addition, the deepening of referees' reliance on VAR may result in some of their duties being taken over by VAR to deal only with less important fouls. This change needs to be considered in terms of the pursuit of fairness and justice versus maintaining the consistency, spectacle and uncertainty of the game. Ultimately, the outcome of the vote on the rule change will determine the fate of this change. FIFA has four votes, with one vote for each of the four English soccer associations. If the rule change is approved by six votes, the new rule will go into effect.
