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All eyes in the soccer world will be on the 2026 World Cup as it kicks off this week throughout the United States. During the matches, many of those eyes will also be paying close attention to refereeing decisions, which are often controversial and can swing contests and alter outcomes. Central in that plot is the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology, which allows calls made by the on-field referee to be reviewed on video and altered, if necessary. 

So how exactly does that technology work and how has it been received since its implementation? And what kind of impact could it have on the World Cup this summer? We checked in with , senior lecturer in philosophy at UNH, who is an expert on the philosophy of officiating and a former U.S. Youth Soccer National Female Young Referee of the Year, to find some answers.

What is VAR and how does it work? 

VAR stands for the Video Assistant Referee, but the acronym is also often used for the review process itself. The VAR reviews replay footage on behalf of the center referee, as part of the refereeing team, checking for a “clear and obvious error” or “serious missed incident” during the game. The center referee, not the VAR, is responsible for all decisions made, and must officially request a review in order to change a decision on the field. The VAR assists the referee at an offsite video operation room, which will be located in Dallas at the International Broadcast Centre for the 2026 World Cup.

In soccer, the VAR automatically checks reviewable plays that fall into four important categories: goal-scoring chances, possible penalty kicks, possible red cards, and cases of mistaken identity where the wrong player is shown a red or yellow card. This World Cup will be the first competition to feature a fifth, newly optional category: review of corner kick decisions, provided that the review won’t delay the restart. The center referee also retains the option to initiate an on-field review, running over to referee review area (RRA) near the halfway line to watch the replay itself. 

Nina Windgätter.

At this World Cup, the VAR will have access to footage from all broadcast cameras as well as to 16 optical tracking cameras that work in conjunction with AI-powered 3D avatars that have been generated of each player. These cameras will work with Advanced Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) which can send clear positional offside information directly to the referees in the match and generate the images we’ll see in broadcasts showing whether a player was offside or not.

What makes VAR unique in comparison to instant replay review in other sports?

A major distinguishing feature of soccer that complicates video replay is that the clock is always running and there are no timeouts. In sports like basketball or American football, play stops all the time, so while a longer interruption to review a play can be annoying, it isn’t very disruptive. However, unlike basketball and American football, soccer is a low-scoring sport, so every decision affecting a potential a goal is of high consequence: it could determine the outcome of a game! FIFA was much slower to add video review than other sports, trialing it starting in 2016 and changing the Laws (soccer is governed by the “Laws of the Game,” with supplementary competition rules) to allow it only in 2018.

The VAR system allows certified and experienced referees to assist the center referee during the flow of play, automatically checking plays that fall under the reviewable categories while the ball is in play. However, a foundational law in soccer is that infractions can be penalized so long as play has not been restarted. So, for example, if the refereeing team misses a violent headbutt away from the ball, a red card for violent conduct can be issued so long as play has not restarted with a throw-in, free kick, corner kick, or goal kick since the incident took place. Think of this as a statute of limitations in-game, though fines and suspensions can be issued after. 

Are there any changes to the system that will be appearing in a World Cup for the first time this year?

There are three minor changes in what is reviewable that take affect starting with this World Cup that could end up having significant impact on the tournament. First, while before only a direct red card could be reviewed by the VAR, now a second yellow card (which is one of the nine red card offenses that results in a player leaving the game without a replacement and a suspension in the tournament) can be reviewed to see if it is clearly incorrect. It is important to note that the VAR can only review if the second yellow card was clearly wrong; nothing else about the play is reviewable nor can the VAR look back at the first yellow card to see if the referee made any errors in that decision. Similarly, second, the VAR can now review if there is mistaken identity for yellow cards in addition to red cards, meaning the referee cards the wrong player for an offense.

Third, IFAB authorized competitions to allow the review of a new fifth category: a “Clearly incorrectly awarded corner kick if the decision can be changed immediately and without delaying the restart,” and the World Cup will implement this option. Corner kicks are valuable scoring opportunities: at the last men’s World Cup in 2022, 15 goals were scored off corner kicks, and according to , 73.3% of those goals helped teams tie or take the lead. However, it is unclear which possession decisions can be reviewed without delaying the restart, so I’m concerned about this review being applied equitably.

In what ways could you envision VAR memorably impacting this year’s World Cup?

This World Cup, we will see a lot of disagreements about referee decisions, many of which will involve the VAR system. While FIFA hoped that VAR would silence referee critics, that hope was misplaced by the nature of the necessary judgment calls written into the Laws of the Game requiring referees, for example, to determine player’s intentions or the risks posed to opponents by a foul. Soccer is a low-scoring sport, and the World Cup only happens once every four years. Some people’s hopes and dreams will be crushed by the action and inaction of the VAR, while others’ greatest wishes will be fulfilled!

What are some of the elements that make VAR a controversial topic in the soccer world?

There are two major sources of controversy: over-estimation of what VAR is capable of and the impact on the flow of the game. First, people seem to think that VAR will get every decision completely correct, without controversy, and that’s simply not possible. Soccer, like many sports, is full of rules that require the referee to make judgment calls. Referees can reasonably disagree about whether something was on purpose or how risky an action was. Therefore, there is, simply put, no perfection that referees could aim for, and as a result, VAR can never be perfect.

Second, VAR disrupts the flow of the game in two ugly ways that anger fans. Fans often underestimate the role that what philosophers call “aesthetics” plays in their fan experience. Aesthetics is the study of what is beautiful, and if you reflect on the sports you love, many of the qualities that made you fall in love with that sport or that help you enjoy it  involve aesthetic attributes like displays of skill and drama. The unique aesthetic feature of soccer is flow: soccer is a game of constant motion. The VAR disrupts this flow by requiring everyone to stand around while people in a dark room hundreds or thousands of miles away look at screens away from our observation. The review process itself can also change the momentum of a game, giving players a chance to huddle together and adjust their attitudes, or disillusioning players so much that they lose hope. 

Relatedly, it disrupts the greatest moment of joy players experience scoring a goal and fans experience watching: rather than celebrating immediately like we used to, now everyone looks around at the referee to see whether the goal actually counts. 

Do you believe VAR has been a positive addition to international soccer?

VAR is necessary! If everyone else in the stadium or sitting on their couch has access to a video replay, the referee — the person who makes decisions and is held accountable for them — ought to have access too. In a world where doxing is commonplace and millions of dollars can ride on a referee’s decision, referees need tools to get the important decisions right. No one should be in a position where they like Andre Marriner did in 2014.

Two major errors at the 2010 World Cup were an impetus to institute VAR. First, in the Round of 16, England’s Frank Lampard was denied a potentially momentum swinging goal in what became a 4-1 loss  to Germany when officials failed to see his shot cross the goal line after hitting the crossbar (England had just scored and would have equalized 2-2 if the goal had been allowed). Then, in the Final, Dutch player Nigel de Jong famously Spain’s Xabi Alonso in the chest. Watch the video online if you haven’t seen it! This is a clear and obvious red card for serious foul play. Howard Webb, the British referee who now runs England’s professional refereeing association, gave de Jong a yellow card that he later publicly said ought to have been red. That game turned nasty, with a total of fourteen cards issued in the match. 

The officials who approved VAR did so with these two incidents fresh in their minds, and VAR is needed to prevent such obvious errors. That said, the rollout of VAR has been bumpy and leaves much to be desired. VAR is still very new to soccer: this is only the third men’s World Cup that will feature it. The refereeing community has come a long way in its use of VAR since its introduction in 2018, but it still has further to go to ensure that the use of VAR is consistent and just.

Any World Cup predictions?

The thing that I love about soccer, an aesthetic dimension that keeps me coming back again and again, is that any team can win on any given day. If the best team always won, the game would be predictable and boring. If only the best players ever scored, I could look away when the stars were off the ball. I predict that a lot of unexpected things will happen, controversies will abound, and I’ll have a great time watching!