Expresso Platform: Big Games | UEFA announces VAR in the absence of qualification for the 2022 World Cup

The European Football Association (UEFA) announced on its official website, Thursday, that the Video Referee System (VAR) system will be used from the fourth round of the European qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The body that oversees European football, notes the formalization of the presence of the VAR after a decision in July by its executive committee, “The system will run from the fourth round and include all matches scheduled from September 2021.”

UEFA states that the initial plan to use VAR in qualifying competitions for European teams had to be postponed due to logistical complications caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the same statement, the organization said that VAR logistics will be implemented outside the host federation’s stadium, using specific vehicles provided by UEFA’s VAR technology providers.

In the qualifiers, Portugal leads Group A, on a par with Serbia, both with seven points, after three matches, followed by Luxembourg with three points, and the Republic of Ireland and Azerbaijan, without points, all with two matches.

The team led by Fernando Santos lost the only points in Serbia (2-2), in a controversial final, in which Cristiano Ronaldo scored an uncalculated goal: former Benfica player Stefan Mitrovic cut the ball after it passed in total. The line, but was not seen by the referee, in a match without VAR technology.

With five rounds remaining, the next matches of the Quaina selection will be with the Republic of Ireland, on September 1 in Estádio do Algarve, and on September 7 in Baku, against Azerbaijan.