Pierluigi Collina warns that VAR will continue to be controversial | OneFootball

Video replay technology was introduced this season in Serie A and the Bundesliga.

La Liga and Ligue 1 are set to introduce a video assistant referee (VAR) next season and the system will also be used during the upcoming World Cup. The VAR sees two officials watch the match from a booth and give the referee information that might make them want to look at passages of play again.

UEFA Head of Referees Pierluigi Collina has now opened up to news agency Ansa on what effects VAR will have on the game.

“In football, the interpretation of the referee is very important,” said the legendary ex-referee. “There are and will continue to be incidents that divide opinion even after the game is finished and the referee must make a final decision.

“There are many other sports where technology, such as instant replays or overhead cameras, have been implemented for many years. However, in these sports, it is used purely for objective decisions, not subjective ones open to interpretation.

“Doing the same thing in football would mean limiting the ability to intervene too much, as it would only be to tell offside positions or if a foul was inside the box, but not for something such as handball and it would be a shame not to use VAR for those situations too.”

Collina was quick to defend the current quality of match officials and hinted that he may not think VAR is here to say.

“I realise it’s very attractive to talk about this novelty, but I think it more important to underline the good work done by the referees to ensure they don’t always need to look to VAR.

“We are doing very intensive and careful work with the referees and help from coaches who instruct players to replicate situations that are important for a referee to decide on.

“The idea behind all of this is to help the referee, who will then have to make those decisions on the field in a pressure situation.”