The English Premier League has voted to add video assistant referees for the 2019-20 season. The EPL joins Germany’s Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A, Spain’s La Liga, France’s Ligue 1, Portugal’s Primeira Liga, and the U.S.’s MLS as major international circuits that deploy VAR.
VAR is not a new concept to soccer in the United Kingdom, as the referee aid is already in use at the FA Cup and EFL Cup tournaments. The Premier League has been conducting a series of non-live tests throughout the season and is still refining its best practices for communicating decisions to fans.
The EPL’s VAR system will be stationed at the league’s media headquarters in Uxbridge.
Premier League clubs have agreed in principle to introduce Video Assistant Referees (VAR) to the competition in the 2019/20 season
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— Premier League (@premierleague) November 15, 2018
SportTechie Takeaway
Though VAR has had no shortage of high-profile glitches—including massive technical problems with VAR in Germany and a VAR malfunction in the Australian soccer championship—the video review system has become pervasive in global soccer since Australia debuted it in the A-League on Apr. 7, 2017. After VAR was implemented successfully at the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup, its expansion to all major leagues seems inevitable. UEFA has authorized the use of video assistant referees for 2019-20, but the BBC has reported that the European governing body could fast-track the installation for later in the current Champions League season.