VAR set to be used at the World Cup in Russia

Decision will be made official on Saturday

Posted Saturday, March 03, 2018 by Marca.com

Almost all preparations for the summer World Cup in Russia are complete, yet one final addition will be made official on Saturday with VAR set to be used at the tournament.

The technology has been trialled across Europe this term with mixed success, the FA Cup has seen numerous incidents highlighted by VAR whilst it has become a staple in Serie A and Bundesliga this season.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has always been a huge supporter of the technology and has fought for its inclusion in the World Cup.

"I couldn't live with myself if the World Cup is decided by a decision where everybody knows what has happened aside from the referee," he explained.

On Saturday, the International Football Association Board will make a decision that is likely to cause controversy across the landscape of the sport.

VAR isn't backed by everyone, it splits opinion especially in its current unrefined form, and that is one of the issues for Aleksander Ceferin, the president of UEFA, a vocal critic of the system.

"We aren't even contemplating the use of VAR at this moment," the Slovenian admitted.

"The next Champions League will not have VAR given the failures the current system still has."

Friday morning saw the Spanish Football Association (RFEF) and LaLiga sign an agreement which will see VAR arrive in their top-flight in time for the 2018/19 season.

Testing will begin and last for the remainder of the current season and the headquarters for decision making will be Soccer City in Las Rozas.

One of the problems with the current iteration of VAR is there are still so many issues to iron out, fans inside the ground and watching on television are not kept properly in the loop of what is going on.

Furthermore there seems to be no set guidelines of just when the technology is to be used, or at least they aren't being followed.

There are just over three months until the World Cup begins, it seems inconceivable that the system will be refined enough in that time to make it a perfect success this summer and many believe FIFA are rushing to get it in place, despite having the Confederations Cup as a testing tournament in 2017.

FIFA referee Massimo Busacca is a supporter of the system and believes that fans need to be patient and adjust to it.

"It can't be perfect from day one," he insisted. "Nobody is perfect.

"The tests carried out show a success rate around 99 percent."

The governing body took a risk when they implemented goalline technology in the 2014 World Cup, that worked flawlessly and has been part of football ever since and there is hope VAR will go in the same direction but as yet there are more questions than answers.