VAR at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019™

5 ESSENTIAL FACTS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT VAR

  1. A video assistant referee team supports the match officials during all 52 matches.

     

  2. The video assistant referee team is located in a video operation room in Paris.

     

  3. The video assistant referee team has access to all relevant broadcast cameras.

     

  4. The video assistant referee does not take any decisions; he/she supports the referee in the decision making process and the final decision can only be taken by the referee.

     

  5. Football fans will be informed about the review process by broadcasters, commentators and infotainment.

     

THE VAR TEAM

The team consists of the video assistant referee (VAR) and his/her two assistant video assistant referees (AVARs). All of them are top FIFA match officials. The FIFA Referees Committee has selected 27 referees and 47 assistant referees, representing 42 different countries, for the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™. Ten of the fifteen selected video match officials were VARs or referees at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™. The referees selected for France 2019 have already demonstrated their skills at previous tournaments, including the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Jordan 2016 and Uruguay 2018, as well as the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Papua New Guinea in 2016 and last year’s edition in Brittany, France.

Two replay operators select and provide the best camera angles. One of them preselects the most likely camera angles while the other provides the final angles chosen by the VAR and the AVAR responsible for offsides for each checked or reviewed incident.

Previews - FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019

AVAR2

The AVAR2 is an assistant video assistant referee located at the offside station. He/she anticipates and checks any potential offside situations to speed up the VAR check-and-review process.

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AVAR1

The AVAR1 concentrates on the main camera and keeps the VAR informed about live play if an incident is being checked or reviewed.

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VAR

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

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FIFA REFEREE PREPARATION

FIFA's referees trained in Doha, Qatar, at a referee training seminar in preparation for the FIFA Women's World Cup in France.

THE VIDEO OPERATION ROOM (VOR)

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

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THE CAMERAS

The VAR team has access to all relevant FIFA host broadcaster camera feeds as well as two additional offside cameras, with the exception of a few cameras that do not cover the game.

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THE DECISION PROCESS

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

  • Goals and offences leading up to a goal

  • Penalty decisions and offences leading up to a penalty

  • Direct red card incidents only Mistaken identity

VAR EXPLAINED

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 FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™, 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.

On-Field Review (for interpretation)

Goals

  • foul committed by attacking player

  • offside interference

Penalty Decisions

  • foul leading up to penalty

  • foul by attacking player

All direct red card incidents

VAR Advice Only (for factual incidents)

Goals

  • offside position leading up to goal

  • ball out of play leading up to goal

Penalty Decisions

  • foul committed inside or outside the penalty area

  • ball out of play leading up to penalty

  • offside position leading up to penalty

  • All cases of mistaken identity

REFEREE REVIEW AREA (RRA)

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 pitch-side near the technical areas.

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HAND SIGNALS

Hand to the Ear

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

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This is not considered an official VAR review.

Official Review Sign

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.

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

THE VIRTUAL OFFSIDE LINE

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.

3D offside line system

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.

VAR INFORMATION SYSTEM

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.

Video Assistant Refereeing (VAR) Room - 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia

TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS

Making sure the technology at the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™ 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): Riedel Communications GmbH & Co. KG (audio) and Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd (video) Goal-Line Technology (GLT): Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd

More

VAR Technology

The use of video assistant referees (VARs) in football was first included in the Laws of the Game in 2018/19. FIFA assesses the technological aspects of VAR systems through the FIFA Quality Programme for VAR Technology.

FIFA Quality Programme for VAR Technology

The FIFA Quality Programme complements the Implementation Assistance and Approval Programme and administers the licensing process for VAR providers.

Implementation Assistance and Approval Programme for VAR technology (IAAP)

The Implementation Assistance and Approval Programme (IAAP) was approved during The IFAB’s 132nd Annual General Meeting on 3 March 2018.

VAR at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019™

The team consists of the video assistant referee (VAR) and his/her two assistant video assistant referees (AVARs). All of them are top FIFA match officials.

VAR at the 2018 FIFA World Cup™

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.

Last updated: Monday 16 October 2023 at 16:32