VAR, explained

In one lineThe video assistant referee can help only when the referee has made a clear and obvious error, or missed something serious, in a short list of match-changing situations.

What VAR is

The video assistant referee (VAR) is a match official who watches the game on screens in a video operation room, which can be at the stadium or far away. One or more assistant VARs and replay operators help.

The IFAB, the body that writes the Laws of the Game, approved VAR unanimously as an option for competitions on 3 March 2018. It entered the Laws in the 2018/19 edition. On 16 March 2018, FIFA’s Council decided to use VAR in every match of that year’s World Cup in Russia.

VAR is not automatic. A competition may use it only after meeting the requirements in the VAR Handbook and receiving written permission from FIFA.

Two tests

VAR’s job is narrow. The referee’s original decision stands unless the footage shows a clear and obvious error. VAR can also flag a serious missed incident: something serious that none of the officials on the pitch saw.

Under the protocol, accuracy matters more than speed, so there is no time limit on a review.

What can be reviewed

For years there were four categories. Since the 2026/27 Laws there are five:

1. Goal or no goal. This includes an attacking offence in the build-up, such as a foul, handball or offside, and the ball going out of play before the goal.
2. Penalty or no penalty. This includes whether the offence was inside or outside the penalty area.
3. Red cards. Denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, serious foul play, violent conduct, biting or spitting, and offensive or abusive actions. New in 2026/27: a red card that came from a clearly wrong second yellow card.
4. Mistaken identity. When the referee shows a yellow or red card to the wrong player. Only who committed the offence is reviewed, not the offence itself.
5. Corner kicks, if the competition chooses. A clearly wrong corner can be corrected, but only immediately and without delaying the restart. If the corner is taken quickly, it stands.

Everything else is outside VAR’s remit. A yellow card on its own is not reviewable, except for mistaken identity. Restarts such as throw-ins cannot be changed once play has restarted.

From check to review

Every goal, penalty incident, possible direct red card and possible mistaken identity is checked automatically. Most checks are silent: if nothing is wrong, the VAR says nothing. If the restart has to wait, the referee holds a finger to their earpiece and stretches out the other arm.

If a check suggests a probable clear error, the VAR tells the referee. Only the referee can start a review. There are two kinds:

Slow motion is meant for facts, such as a point of contact. Normal speed is used to judge the force of a challenge, or whether a handball was an offence.

Both kinds of review end the same way. The referee draws a TV-screen shape in the air, the TV signal, then gives the final decision. Players and coaches do not need to ask for a review, because the VAR checks automatically. A player who makes the TV signal excessively, or enters the review area, is cautioned. Anyone who enters the video operation room is sent off.

When it is too late

Once play has stopped and restarted, the referee generally cannot go back. There are two exceptions: mistaken identity, and a possible red card for violent conduct, spitting, biting or extremely offensive, insulting or abusive actions.

Telling the crowd

The VAR protocol allows competitions to have the referee announce and explain the decision after a review, or after a long check, following FIFA’s guidelines. The IFAB confirmed trials in March 2023. They began at FIFA’s Club World Cup 2022, played in Morocco in early 2023. For the 2023 Women’s World Cup, FIFA set out that referees would announce their final decisions to spectators and TV viewers over a microphone.

The Premier League adopted announcements from 2025/26: referees explain VAR reviews over the stadium public-address system, except factual offside decisions.

Since 2026/27, competitions may also give referees, assistant referees and fourth officials body cameras, if the competition supplies them and controls the footage. Microphones on the cameras cannot be used to broadcast conversations with the VAR.

Offside and technology

In competitions that use VAR, an offside position is one of the facts the video team checks. Semi-automated offside technology speeds this up with cameras that track the players’ bodies. See Offside, explained.

Where to go next

• The 17 Laws in plain English
• Offside, explained