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Letter: VAR in football can learn lessons from other sports (1)

Published 11 December 2024

From Roger Leitch, Bath, UK

Regarding the video assistant referee (VAR) system in football, how about adding a few rules about its use? For example, the on-field referee could only request VAR if they were really uncertain about a situation, not just to “make sure”, and off-pitch officials could only give their opinion if the referee asked them for it (23 November, p 40).

And a system similar to the one for disputed line calls in tennis could be implemented: the team captains or the coaches could challenge a decision, which would then be checked by VAR, but each team would only have a set number of challenges.

Issue no. 3521 published 14 December 2024

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