OFFICIAL: VAR will be used at World Cup

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The International Football Association Board confirmed earlier that it has “unanimously approved” the introduction of Video Assistant Referees in the game, pav ing the way for its use at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in the summer.
• Now FIFA officially announced, that the video assistant referee system will be used at the World Cup in Russia, as football has to go with the times.

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• FIFA President Gianni Infantino said:

“We need to live with the times. We wanted to give the referees tools so they can make better decisions, and in the World Cup some very important decisions are made. It’s not possible that in 2018 everyone in their living room knows a few seconds after the play whether a referee has made a mistake and the referee doesn’t.

“I was sceptical at first, but without trying you cannot know what it’s worth. Without VAR, a referee can make one important mistake every three matches. With VAR, the figures we have seen from the trials that have been held show that a big mistake is made once every 19 matches.”

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