VAR to be introduced in next season’s Champions League

Video assistant referee (VAR) will be introduced in the Champions League and other UEFA competitions from the 2019/20 season.

The decision was reached on Thursday at a meeting of UEFA’s executive committee in Nyon, Switzerland.

According to UEFA, the VAR system will be used from the play-off stage of the Champions League while it will also be used for the 2019 UEFA Super Cup as well as EURO 2020.

There are plans to also extend its use to the Europa League from the 2020/21 season.

Several controversial incidents have marred high-profile matches in Europe’s premier club competitions in recent years, including games between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich last season, thereby increasing calls for the VAR system to be introduced.

Reacting to the decision taken by the technical meeting, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin said he hopes the introduction of VAR would improve the efficiency of refereeing.

“We are confident that introducing Video Assistant Referees in August 2019 will give us enough time to put in place a robust system and to train match officials to ensure an efficient and successful implementation of VAR in the UEFA Champions League, the world’s flagship club competition,” he said.

The VAR system was initially trialled in the US and was first used during an official game in Australia’s A-league in April 2017.

The referee assistant system came to the fore at the 2018 World Cup where it was used in 335 incidents with a 99.3 percent success rate.

It is presently being adopted in four major European leagues.