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VAR changed everything about the World Cup — and not everyone is happy
💡 VAR has made World Cup refereeing more accurate since 2018, but the delays and inconsistency in interpretation frustrate players and fans alike.
Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was introduced at the World Cup in 2018 in Russia, and it immediately changed the game. A team of video referees watches every incident from multiple camera angles and can alert the on-field referee to clear and obvious errors involving goals, penalties, red cards, and mistaken identity.
VAR's impact has been dramatic. In 2018, it led to 17 penalty kicks in the group stage alone, as referees were now catching fouls in the box they would have previously missed. Supporters argue VAR has made the game fairer. At the 2022 World Cup, several crucial goals were correctly awarded or disallowed thanks to VAR reviews.
The criticism? VAR can kill the emotion of the game. Scoring a goal and then waiting two minutes while referees review it — watching the tension drain from the stadium — is something many fans despise. There's also the problem of inconsistency: different referees interpret "clear and obvious" differently, which has led to frustration that VAR creates as many arguments as it resolves.