Europe’s football governing body UEFA, has announced that VAR technology will be used in the Champions League from next season.
The Video Assistant Referee technology is gaining widespread support in the footballing world after initial opposition to the idea when it was introduced.
UEFA also announced that the technology will be used in the 2020 European Championship, next year’s UEFA Super Cup, in the Europa League from the 2020-21 season and also in the finals of the new Nations League competition from 2021.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said: “We’re confident that introducing VAR in August 2019 will give us enough time to put in place a robust system and to train match officials”
“to ensure an efficient, successful implementation of VAR in the UEFA Champions League, the world’s flagship club competition.”
The decision was made by UEFA’s executive committee at a meeting on Thursday. There are still reservations about its effectiveness though as many believes it slows down the game.
VAR was in full use at the FIFA World Cup Finals in Russia and it’s debut in the competition has been deemed very successful as match officials grew more confident in its usage.
Top league’s in Spain, France, Germany and Italy use VAR, but the English Premier League is still not convinced enough to use the technology.
