European refereeing chiefs say VAR should intervene only for blatantly wrong decisions and obvious incidents the referee failed to see.
Chief refereeing officers from all 55 European national associations met last week with Uefa’s refereeing officials and a representative from the International Football Association Board (Ifab) to discuss recent changes to the Laws of the Game.
Attendees warned that prolonged, forensic reviews suggest VAR is being used beyond its intended remit.
When VAR was written into the Laws in 2018 by Ifab, its guiding principle was “minimum interference – maximum benefit,” aimed at reducing unfairness from clear and obvious errors or serious missed incidents involving goals, penalties, direct red cards and cases of mistaken identity.
Uefa said the meeting concluded that a return to those original objectives is necessary.
“It was reiterated that, in accordance with protocol, VAR must only intervene in situations of ‘clear and obvious’ error — that is, when a referee’s decision is blatantly incorrect or when a clear incident has been missed,” Uefa said in a statement.
“VAR is not intended to re-referee matches; it is a crucial support tool, and on-field referees must remain central to decision-making.
“Lengthy, microscopic reviews often indicate the on-field decision was not clearly and obviously wrong and should therefore be limited.”
Officials also noted Ifab’s recent clarification on interpreting the “mistaken identity” rule introduced before this summer’s World Cup, which allows a change if a player is booked or sent off but the foul was actually committed by an opponent.
Switzerland’s Breel Embolo became the first player dismissed under the updated law after receiving a second yellow for simulation against Argentina. Leandro Paredes had initially been shown a yellow for his challenge before VAR intervened.
Ifab clarified that VAR may review cautions only to confirm the identity of the player who committed the penalised offence, not to reassess or change the offence itself.
There was also unanimous backing for recent measures to cut unnecessary delays, including time limits on goal-kicks, throw-ins and substitutions, as well as new rules covering on-field injuries and goalkeeper tactical timeouts.