Video review added to football laws ahead of World Cup

Video assistance for referees still needs the approval of the Fifa Council when it meets in Bogota later this month, and if approved it could be in use during the World Cup in Russia.

In this Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017 file photo, referee Harm Osmers looks at a video screen to decide whether to give a penalty against Bayern Munich during the German Bundesliga match. Now football's top body on rules has approved the technology.
AP

In this Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017 file photo, referee Harm Osmers looks at a video screen to decide whether to give a penalty against Bayern Munich during the German Bundesliga match. Now football's top body on rules has approved the technology.

FIFA's rule-making panel approved adding video review to the laws of football on Saturday, clearing the way for its use at the World Cup in June.

The panel, known as IFAB, voted unanimously to begin updating the game's written rules to include video assistant referees (VAR).

The decision "represents a new era for football with video assistance for referees helping to increase integrity and fairness in the game," the panel said in a statement.

FIFA must take a further decision on using VAR at the World Cup in Russia, which kicks off June 14.

That will likely come on March 16 when the FIFA Council meets in Bogota, Colombia.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has long said World Cup referees must get high-tech help to review key decisions at the 64-game tournament.

Overturn errors

Video review can overturn "clear and obvious errors" and "serious missed incidents" by match officials involving goals, penalty awards, red cards, and mistaken identity.

The decision Saturday is among the most fundamental changes to soccer since the laws were codified 155 years ago.

The VAR system has often created confusion in the first full season of live trials. Top-tier competitions which opted to use it include Germany's Bundesliga and Italy's Serie A.

Several games at the 2017 Confederations Cup, FIFA's World Cup warm-up tournament in Russia, also left players, coaches and fans in the stadium unsure what match officials were doing. Communication was unclear during reviews lasting minutes instead of a handful of seconds, which was the target suggested in 2016 when the protocol for using VAR was shaped and trials began.

Ruled out in Champions League

UEFA has already ruled out using VAR in the Champions League next season, and the English Premier League is also waiting to see the system can prove itself essential.

Still, the International Football Association Board's approval was expected Saturday because FIFA controls four of the eight votes. The four British soccer associations, which created IFAB in 1886, have one vote each, and six are needed to approve an idea.

FIFA's historical reluctance to embrace technological help for referees changed at the 2010 World Cup, after an England goal was not given despite Frank Lampard's shot clearly crossing the German goal-line. Germany went on to win the Round of 16 game 4-1.

At the 2014 World Cup, FIFA deployed goal-line technology. Referees were alerted with a simple yes-no signal to their watches after multiple camera angles judged if the ball crossed the line. Goal-line systems are now used at UEFA's European Championship and in the Premier League.

The potential use of video review was first announced on the eve of the World Cup tournament in Brazil.

FIFA's then-president Sepp Blatter surprised IFAB officials in Sao Paulo by suggesting coaches could call on video replays to challenge some refereeing decisions.

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