On 1 September 2016, the Video Assistant Referee (Var) was used for the first time in an official match. Six years ago, in the city of Bari, a referee (the Dutch Björn Kuipers) was able to resort to the support of the Var and technology in a real match. Let’s talk about the Italy-France match. Fifa and in particular the president of the Referees Committee Pierluigi Collina look to the past and the future with a positive thought. “I remember the day very well. A historic day. At the time I was not officially working for FIFA, but I was in Bari with other colleagues, to see Italy against France and to see Video Assistant Referee used for the first time in a international match. We were all very curious to see the result, but I must admit also a little nervous. It was the first time after all! I remember sitting in a small van outside the Bari stadium with the new FIFA president Gianni Infantino and the I showed how the Var was working. How far we have come since then! “, Collina said. “It was 1 September 2016 and in the following six years the Var did not lead to the” end of football “, as some reported at the time, but instead it is now part of the fabric of our sport, and it is difficult to imagine football without it. . I remember the first time we discussed such a technology, with the aim of preventing wrong decisions on the ground. We were at an IBAB match in Belfast in 2014. It seemed like a daydream at the time, but it only took two years to go from being just an idea to being implemented at the highest level of football that. evening in Bari where it went well “, continued the president of the FIFA referees committee.” It was a great challenge to prepare in less than two years for the 2018 World Cup. The Var was used only in a few countries and there they were very few match officials with technology experience. But Fifa’s refereeing sector and Fifa’s Department of Technology and Innovation worked, it was extremely difficult, and the Var at the 2018 FIFA World Cup was a huge success, and it was the best possible answer to those. waiting for failure. They were disappointed. Gianni Infantino and I have always had great faith that the Var would be a success and would bring more fairness to football matches. We were right in this regard. However, since 2018 we have not rested on our laurels, “added Collina.” The Var was one of the biggest changes in the history of football, so it is understandable that it takes time to understand and appreciate it. Encouraging players, coaches, fans and the media to better understand technology and its use has been a crucial goal for us in recent years. There is now a much greater worldwide awareness of the Var process, and it has become much more widely accepted. However, improvements can always be made. We know it. Sometimes it still takes too long to make a final decision and we have to speed up the processes. “” To that end, we will see the semi-automatic offside technology (Saot) working with the Var and the referees in Qatar. The new technology will make decisions faster, reducing the time it takes to check if a goal has been scored correctly, and the video match officials will automatically be provided with images of each offside. A new graphic display will also be broadcast on television and inside the stadium to give fans a greater understanding of the decisions. This technology will also make the Var more precise, thanks to the “connected ball” that determines the moment of contact and the tracking system that determines the exact position of the players “, explained the number one referee of Fifa.” Fifa , in line with President’s Vision 2020-2023, continue to leverage technology to assist referees and make the game we love more fair and transparent. Improvement and development are two fundamental phases for us. That is why we are also working on new hypotheses. For example: the future implementation of a Var Light – a system that uses fewer cameras to accommodate smaller budget leagues and competitions – in the coming months will further increase Var exposure worldwide. Some trials are underway at the moment. The tests are going well. And we are considering something that is even easier to use and has a lower cost. All with the aim of allowing the use of technology by a greater number of Fifa member associations. With around 100 FIFA member associations and competition organizers using it or in the process of using it, the Var is becoming more and more truly global. We have come a long way in these six years since that little van in Bari and we are really proud of the work of Fifa behind the implementation of the Var “, concluded Collina.