The new Premier League season is now just around the corner and there will be a major change to the beautiful game at the highest level. 

Video Assistant Referees have arrived after Premier League clubs voted unanimously for them to be introduced. 

18 domestic leagues have already used it, as well as the World Cup, FA Cup, and Champions League. 

And now the English top-flight will see VAR implemented but how will it operate?

Jamie Kemble from Leicestershire Live put the system to the test and found out everything you need to know about the technology 


The background

VAR or Video assistant referee will be introduced for the first time in the Premier League next season.

The technology will be rolled out and used in every game in the top flight with the hope of improving the accuracy of decisions made by officials.

VAR isn't new, of course, we have already seen it in several competitions such as the World Cup, the Women's World Cup, Champions League, La Liga, MLS and beyond.

Make no mistake, the Premier League have been slow to introduce VAR, but there is a reason for that.

Referee Bjorn Kuipers checks the VAR after a handball incident by Danny Rose against Man City

The organisers of the English top flight were desperate to get it right, to learn from others and to make sure officials get the best training first.

Having waited, the Premier League have had the chance to ensure hundreds of hours of training, also including select group 2 officials, who don't referee matches, to make sure the next generation of officials also have experience.

Training has included as many as nine youth tournaments at St George's Park using VAR, beginning in 2017, which allowed referees and organisers to get to grips with the technology ahead of its introduction next season.

The research

Research suggests that last season, Premier League officials got 82 percent of key-game decisions correct, which is impressive, but that compares to a 95 percent accuracy set by VAR.

Officials got 41 key decisions wrong in all last season from 380 games in total, with 31 of those mistakes coming in games where the scores were level or with only a one-goal difference.

When can VAR be used?

VAR can only be used in four situations:



Direct red cards

Mistaken identity

There are no exceptions, so you won't see any checks for corners, throw-ins, yellow cards or anything else. 

If the decision doesn't fall under those four points, it will not be reviewed.

Additionally, there has to be a 'clear and obvious error' on the on-field referee's part to overturn a decision.


How will it work?

VAR officials will be housed at the Premier League match centre.

The VAR will be a current or former official. They will be accompanied by two other people in the booth. One will be an assistant, and the other a Hawkeye operator, who will ensure the right images appear on the review screens at the right time.

There are a number of screens, one showing the game live, one at a three second delay, one which shows a mix of angles on a split screen and another is for the operator's use, among others.

In front of the VAR official, there are two buttons, one red, one green.

The green button is used to bookmark a phase of play, helping to sift through the footage quickly and precisely.

The red is the button they use to communicate with the on-field referee.

The VAR official will tell the referee when a check is ongoing and then advise what they decide or if they agree with the on-field decision after review, they will simply say 'check complete' and it's business as usual from there.

VAR equipment.
VAR equipment.

How the Premier League will differ to other competitions

VAR has been surrounded by controversy, so much so that in many competitions, we have found ourselves talking about the technology rather than the match itself, not least in the Women's World Cup over the summer.

That scenario appears to be the Premier League's worst nightmare, and that's why they will be doing things differently to other competitions.

The Premier League must still work within the IFAB (International Football Association Board) framework for VAR, but they are able to put their own stamp on it.

For example, the Premier League's bar for 'clear and obvious' will be set very high.

They want minimum intervention for VAR, and so where possible, they will stick with the decision of the on-field referee.


If a decision is subjective, depending on the reasoning given by the referee, they will usually go with his or her decision.

There will be a RRA screen at the side of the pitch which the referee always has the right to use in order to review decisions.

However, they have instructed officials to use the screen sparingly - they are being told to trust the VAR officials so that we don't see what we have seen in other competitions, referees spending a large amount of time at the screen.

Research has found that in almost all cases, the referee changes his or her decision when reviewing the screen, and that's why they are being asked to trust the official in the booth.

There's also a loose guideline that says if VAR officials watch the same angle more than three times, then there cannot be a clear and obvious error.

They may request another angle to view or a different speed, but they are generally instructed to move on if they cannot see an error in three attempts.

This is all part of the minimum interference aim.

VAR (Video assistant referee) (image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

The grey areas


VAR officials will use 3D lines to determine offsides.

These decisions should be matter of fact except for in cases that the camera doesn't allow the VAR assistant to make a clear decision, in that case they will go with the decision on the field.

Players will be instructed to 'play to the whistle' this season.

That means they have to carry on until they hear the referee's whistle, even if the assistant's flag is raised.

Assistants are being told to keep their flag down for tight decisions or if the play is about to come to an end (i.e a shot on goal is about to take place), but still to do their job and to flag for an offside in most cases.

The referee will delay the decision in case VAR needs to review so that the attacker still has an opportunity.

If a player is offside and wins a corner, then the team score from that corner, VAR will not be used. They can only review offsides that fall into the four areas mentioned above, so if a goal takes place in the phase of play in which a possible offside decision is involved.



Penalties have caused a big stir during the Women's World Cup, particularly due to the rule change which says goalkeepers must stay on their line.

The Premier League will use common sense when it comes to this area, and will only order a retake if the goalkeeper 'makes significant movement towards the ball'. They will not deny a goalkeeper a penalty save over an inch or two.

Encroachment is also a grey area, i.e, players entering the box before the ball has been kicked.

If the penalty is missed and the goalkeeper gathers or the ball goes wide, there will be no further action.

If players from both teams encroach, VAR will advise on a retake should the ball come back into play.

Should only a defender encroach in the same instance, there will be a retake, while in the instance that only an attacker makes an early move into the box, a free-kick will be awarded for the defending team.

With penalties, VAR will be looking for a clear error on goalkeeper movement, which will also be monitored by assistant referees on the field, a double touch from the shooter, feigning at the point of kick and encroachment that impacts the kick or a subsequent clearance/rebound.

Referee Andres Cunha reviews the VAR footage (Image: Michael Regan - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

When does play reset?

One of the tricky areas is when play actually resets.

How far back will VAR go before a goal is scored? For instance, if a team commits a foul then has possession for a full minute before scoring, will they review the foul?

The answer is no.

If the VAR determines that the defending team has had chance to reset, then they will not rule such a goal out.

If there has been a backward or sideways pass between an incident and the goal, it generally cannot be ruled out because the defence has had chance to reset.

If there is a foul and the ball is then put into the box, or there are a string of forward passes that lead to a goal, there will be cause for review.


Red cards

VAR will only change a decision if there is a clear and obvious error on the referee's part.

Much of this comes down to what the referee has communicated to the VAR officials.

If what the referee says is an accurate description of what happened, they will not reverse the decision, even if their opinion differs.

There has to be factual evidence of an error.

So, if the referee says there was a one-footed challenge and the replay shows it was a two-footed challenge, that is cause for the decision to be overturned.

This means you could see two identical challenges in different games, one is punished by a yellow card and the other red, but that's perfectly acceptable because it's still down to the referee's interpretation so long as he or she has seen the incident accurately.

How it will impact fans

This is a big bone of contention for many with concerns that goals will never be celebrated the same again out of fear the goal will then be disallowed by VAR.

Every goal will be reviewed, but it won't always be communicated to fans.

When a VAR check is in progress, a graphic stating the nature of the check, 'possible offside', for example, will display on the big screen or scoreboard. For those at home, it will display on television.

For goals that are being checked, this will not display straight away.

Graham Scott speaks to the other officials about a VAR decision (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

The average time for goal celebrations in the Premier League last season was 62 seconds, while the average time for a VAR check is 84 seconds, meaning it should have little effect on timings also.

Fans and players will only be informed a VAR check is in progress when the teams line up with the referee then delaying the restart.

Checks won't always be announced, though, it will only be in the case that the check takes longer than the natural break in the game.

In most cases, the check will be complete by the time the players line up after a goal and the game will continue as usual without any graphic or signal.

In the instances where the graphic is displayed and a check has been done, following the decision, one replay of the incident will be shown inside the ground for those stadiums with big screens. This will only be shown after a decision has been made.


Punishment for players and managers

There are some instances where players will be punished for asking for VAR.

If a player or manager aggressively asks for VAR, they will be shown a yellow card.

Any interference with the officials' communications will get the same punishment as will anyone going near the screen at the side of the pitch, which will be cordoned off.

Managers and players have the right to give their opinion on decisions in post-game interviews, but should they make excessive comments when criticising the VAR officials, they will face retrospective action just as they would with an on-field official.