var
Latest
World Cup attendees can use AR to see stats for players on the pitch
Fans in stadiums will be able to say player heatmaps in an overlay and look at replays of VAR decisions.
Kris Holt12.02.2022
FIFA OKs sensor ball and semi-automatic offside tracking for the 2022 World Cup
The new technology uses a series of 12 cameras that track the positions of both the ball and players.
Amrita Khalid07.01.2022
Formula 1 will use a VAR-style virtual control room to avoid controversy
Formula is implementing a VAR-like 'Virtual Race Control Room' to prevent a repeat of the messy 2021 season ending.
Jon Fingas02.17.2022
CONCACAF will use VAR during remaining 2022 World Cup qualifiers
CONCACAF will use video reviews for multiple soccer competitions in 2022, including the World Cup qualifiers.
Jon Fingas01.19.2022
Premier League wants video referees starting next season
The wheels are in motion for the Premier League to roll out the video assistant referee (VAR) system starting in 2019-2020. Teams have agreed in principle to the plan, and the league will formally request approval from FIFA and the International Football Association Board.
Kris Holt11.15.2018
European football is finally embracing VAR
The Champions League will begin using VAR, or video assistant referees, during the 2019 to 2020 season, UEFA announced. The technology will also be used in the Europa League starting in 2020 and in the 2019 Super Cup, at Euro 2020 and at the 2021 finals of the Nations League.
Swapna Krishna09.27.2018
The World Cup showed how VAR will shape soccer’s future
For every football (aka soccer) fan, it doesn't get any bigger than the FIFA World Cup. Every four years since 1930, the tournament has been held in different parts of the globe, and honestly, it hasn't changed much. There was the expansion to include 32 teams in 1998, but the game's rules have rarely been altered -- largely because of FIFA's unwillingness to embrace emerging technologies. But the 2018 edition in Russia, which ended Sunday with France's win over Croatia, was different. For the first time ever, FIFA used the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) at its flagship competition. And the tech, for better or worse (depending on which team you cheered on), certainly made a mark.
Edgar Alvarez07.17.2018
Video referee technology influences its first World Cup goal
When FIFA greenlit the use of video assistant referees at the 2018 World Cup, there was one overriding question: how long would it take before the technology shaped an important call? Not long at all, apparently. Two days into the group stage, officiators have used VAR to call for a key penalty after Australia's John Risdon appeared to have fouled France's Antoine Griezmann with a sliding tackle, disrupting a charge toward a possible goal. Griezmann promptly scored on the subsequent penalty kick, giving France the lead.
Jon Fingas06.16.2018
FIFA approves use of video referees at 2018 World Cup
Video assistant referees are about to get their biggest test to date. In the wake of an earlier general approval, the FIFA Council has authorized the use of VARs at the upcoming 2018 World Cup in Russia. The tool will help refs make decisions on difficult calls involving goals and penalties, any offenses leading up to those moments, mistaken identities and red cards. In theory, at least, this reduces the chances of a country going home early due to a bad call -- a distinct possibility given the messes from the last World Cup.
Jon Fingas03.17.2018
FIFA rulemakers approve the use of video referees
Like it or not, video assistant referees are about to become a mainstay of the beautiful game. The International Football Association Board, which sets rules for FIFA as well as UK associations, has unanimously approved the use of VARs in soccer (aka football) matches on a permanent basis. So long as they go through a "mandatory approval process," they can implement the play review technology if they like. The decision comes after an independent university study showed that VARs had a net positive effect.
Jon Fingas03.03.2018
How La Liga is making Barcelona and Real Madrid games high tech
La Liga, Spain's professional football (soccer) league, is home to two of the biggest clubs in the world: Barcelona and Real Madrid. And those teams are each anchored by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, respectively, who are the two biggest players in the sport. While that alone is a reason to keep up with La Liga every season, the league isn't resting on its laurels and is working hard to make the game experience for fans more interactive -- particularly those watching at home. Through a partnership with Intel, La Liga is now letting TV viewers have access to 360-degree replays, thanks to the same True View tech that was recently implemented in the NBA and NFL.
Edgar Alvarez02.27.2018
Wembley to host English football’s first video ref this week
The German Bundesliga uses it, the American MLS is on board, but never before has the video assistant referee (VAR) system officiated a formal match in the home of football: England. That changes this Friday when England plays Germany at Wembley Stadium in one of several international friendlies ahead of the FIFA World Cup tournament in Russia next year, which itself will adopt replay referees for the first time.
Jamie Rigg11.08.2017
Bundesliga is the latest soccer league to use video referees
MLS began using video assistant referees (VAR) earlier this month, and when the top German league began its season today, it too employed the tech. Bundesliga announced back in January that it would use the video review tech during the 2017-18 season and now the system has made its debut on the pitch. The league says that all 23 referees from last season will serve as video officials to assist those calling the action up close on critical decisions, including three who retired following the 2016-17 campaign.
Billy Steele08.18.2017
Video reviews are already proving their worth in MLS
Slowly but surely, technology is making its mark on world soccer. Goal-line technology is already helping rule out goals in the Premier League, Germany's Bundesliga, France's Ligue 1 and Italy's Serie A and FIFA will soon embark on its plan to track players' fitness in real time. But there's also something happening in some leagues around the world that could all but remove contentious decisions from the game: video assistant referees (VAR). This weekend, after a year of preliminary testing in official matches, video replays were unveiled at Major League Soccer matches, and it didn't take long for them to show their effectiveness.
Matt Brian08.08.2017
FIFA envisions a future where players wear in-game fitness trackers
Like it or not, soccer is moving into the modern era. For the past few years FIFA, the sport's governing body, has been working with the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to bring experiments like goal line technology and Video Assistant Referee to the game. But IFAB, which is responsible for creating and approving the rules of soccer, doesn't intend to stop there. In 2015, the organization announced plans to develop a global standard for Electronic Performance Tracking Systems (EPTS), with the goal being to let players use wearable tech in official matches. A decision on when and how EPTS will be implemented is set to happen next March, IFAB Secretary Lukas Brud confirmed to Engadget in an interview.
Edgar Alvarez08.03.2017
FIFA’s tech ‘experiments’ drag soccer into the modern age
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. It may not be as big as American football, baseball or basketball in the US -- at least not yet-- but there's a much larger interest in it here now than five or 10 years ago. One of the problems with soccer is that, unlike pro sports organizations such as the NFL, NBA or MLB, it has never been quick to adopt new technology. For decades FIFA, the sport's governing body, opposed cutting-edge ideas that could keep referees from making the wrong calls. "We shall rely on human beings," former FIFA President Sepp Blatter said in 2002. "Players make mistakes, coaches make mistakes and yes, sometimes referees make mistakes. But football is passion, football is emotion. Football has a human touch."
Edgar Alvarez08.01.2017