VAR at the 2018 FIFA World Cup™

The team consists of the video assistant referee (VAR) and his three assistant video assistant referees (AVAR1, AVAR2 and AVAR3). All video assistant referee team members are top FIFA match officials.

The FIFA Referee Committee has selected 13 Referees, who will act solely as video assistant referees during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™.

The selection criteria for the VAR Team was primarily based on their experience as Video Match Officials in their respective National Associations and Confederation competitions, in addition to their successful participation in several preparatory seminars and FIFA competitions, where they enhanced their VAR knowledge and skills by using the system.

In addition to the 13 Video Assistant Referees, some of the Referees and Assistant Referees who were selected for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia will also act as Video Match Officials during FIFA’s main competition. These appointments will be made before the matches.

List of Match Officials for the 2018 FIFA World Cup™

Four replay operators select and provide the best camera angles. Two of them pre-select the most likely camera angles while the other two provide the final angles chosen by the VAR and the AVAR2 for each checked or reviewed incident.

The VAR watches the main camera on the upper monitor and checks or reviews incidents on the quad-split monitor. He is responsible for leading the VAR team and communicating with the referee on the field of play.

A video assistant referee (VAR) has a very complex task when using video technology in a match at the at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™. In this video, Felix Zwayer explains what a VAR actually does.

Mark Geiger, FIFA Referee explains the time, training and preparation that goes into becoming a VAR.

Roberto Rosetti, VAR Refereeing Project Leader explains how the review process functions when the VAR Team are checking or reviewing each of the four match-changing situations.

The video assistant referee team supports the referee from a centralised video operation room (VOR), located in the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Moscow. All relevant camera feeds from the 12 stadiums are provided to the VOR through a fibre optic network. The referee on the field at each stadium talks to the VAR team via a sophisticated fibre-linked radio system.

The VOR is a vital part of Video Assistant Referee (VAR). The VOR is not only where the VAR Team is located but also where all the technology that makes VAR possible is housed. Get an inside look at the setup.

The video assistant referee team has access to 33 broadcast cameras, eight of which are super slow-motion and four of which are ultra slow-motion cameras. In addition, they have access to two offside cameras. These two cameras are only available to the video assistant referee team. For the knockout phase two additional ultra slow-motion cameras will be installed one behind each goal that will also be available to the VAR team. Slow motion replays are mainly used for factual situations, for example, to identify the point of contact of a physical offence or the position of an offence. Normal speed is used for subjective judgments, for example, the intensity of an offence or to determine if a handball was deliberate. The VAR team has access to all FIFA host broadcaster camera feeds, with the exception of few cameras which do not cover the game, for example the helicopter camera. Neither are the feeds from cameras installed by Media Right Licensees (MRLs) available to the VAR team. Such cameras generally focus on the team the MRLs represent and are not part of the official host broadcaster’s camera plan.

The video assistant referee team supports the decision-making process of the referee in four game-changing situations:

Throughout a match, the video assistant referee team constantly checks for clear and obvious errors related to these four match-changing situations. The VAR team communicates with the referee only for clear and obvious mistakes or serious missed incidents.

For the 2018 FIFA World Cup™, the referees have received clear instructions on when to accept information from the video assistant referee and when to review the video footage on the side of the field of play before taking the appropriate action/decision.

The referee review area (RRA) is a clearly marked area, which contains a mobile screen device that allows the referee to review incidents. It is located pitchside near the technical areas.

The referee can delay a restart at any time to communicate with the VAR. He will signal this by pointing to his ear.

This is not considered an official VAR review.

The referee will make the official VAR review signal to indicate that play has been stopped to review a decision with the on-field review monitor or to change a decision based on information received from the VAR.

An official VAR review only takes place if the referee makes the signal.

Virtual offside lines are computer-generated lines projected onto the broadcast image of the field of play to help the VAR determine whether an offside offense has occurred. The offside lines used are the best possible and most accurate lines that can be generated with existing technology due to calibration using multiple synchronised camera angles. Virtual offside lines are superimposed on the broadcast image by computer software.  Angle of view, lens distortion, field curvature and many other factors are considered when calculating the true position of the these lines. The lines will be calibrated before each match by the technology provider to take into account the exact pitch dimensions and conditions on the day. The VAR team will have various tools available for determining offside positions, which have been validated in a number of tests across different venues by an independent third party using survey grade equipment.

Ever wondered how the 3D offside line system works? This video illustrates how the virtual offside line is placed on the field of play, showing the set-up by the technology provider and measurement by the test laboratory.

To ensure that all football fans in the stadium and watching on TV are well informed during a review process, FIFA has developed a VAR information system for broadcasters, commentators and infotainment. For each match, a FIFA staff member informs the broadcasters, commentators and infotainment about the different steps of the review process, including information about the reason for the review and the outcome of the review, via a networked touch tablet.

The person operating the tablet is located in the video operation room and has access to the audio from the referee communication system as well as the camera angles the VAR is looking at. The VAR information system will also be used to automatically create VAR-specific graphic templates for TV and the giant screen in the stadium.

Making sure the technology at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ functions seamlessly is a very complex task that requires a lot of planning, coordination and organisation. Due to this, FIFA has multiple technology providers who are experts in their field to ensure the technology functions correctly. The providers for each of the technologies are as follows: Video Assistant Referee (VAR): Crescent Comms (audio) and Hawk-Eye Innovations (video) Goal-Line Technology (GLT): Hawk-Eye Innovations