FIFA approves use of video review at World Cup
"We are going to have in 2018, for the first time, a World Cup with VAR," FIFA President Gianni Infantino told a press conference in Bogota, where the organization's council is meeting.
"This has been adopted and approved and obviously we are extremely happy with that decision," he said.
The FIFA Council was widely expected to approve VAR for the World Cup after the International Football Association Board (IFAB) endorsed the technology last week.
Under the IFAB guidelines, VAR can be used to resolve doubts about goals and penalties, as well as to determine whether a foul warrants a straight red card and to ensure that players are not wrongly penalized due to mistaken identity.
FIFA is training 36 officiating teams to work the World Cup, which begins June 14.
"We wanted to give the referees tools so that they can make better decisions, and in the World Cup some very important decisions are made," Infantino said. "It's not possible that in 2018 everyone in their living room knows a few seconds after the play whether a referee has made a mistake and the referee doesn't."
VAR has been used on a trial basis in roughly 1,000 matches in competitions including the Bundesliga and Serie A and the system is not universally popular among players and fans.
"Without VAR, a referee can make one important mistake every three matches. With VAR, the figures we have seen from the trials that have been held show that a big mistake is made once every 19 matches," the FIFA president said.
Фото: efe.com