As was the case at the 2019 tournament, video assistant refereeing – also known as VAR – has been used throughout the Women’s World Cup.
VAR is used to help referees with in-game decisions, including goals and offenses leading to a goal, penalty decisions and offenses leading to a penalty, direct red cards, and whether a player has been incorrectly identified.
“VAR is there to help us in these game critical moments,” Tori Penso, the referee for the semifinal between England and Australia, told CNN. “If we are to make a mistake, it’s an opportunity to get a second chance to get it right.”
Penso said that VAR is a tool, just like a referee’s cards or whistle, to evaluate calls, many of which are difficult to determine with the naked eye, during a game.
“At the end of the day, all we want as referees is to make the right decision,” she said.
How does it work? The process starts with an assistant VAR official reviewing multiple monitors of the live-streamed game in a remote location away from the field.
They interfere with the game only when they believe they see a “clear and obvious error” – such as a missed foul or handball in the box which could lead to a penalty being awarded.
They can then make a recommendation for the game’s referee to go to a monitor on the side of the field to look at a replay of the scenario in question.
“We would work with our video operator to make sure we send down the perfect angle that will help the referee see the point of contact … We talk through what we see on the field and have backup angles in the event the first angle isn’t sufficient,” Penso said of the assistant VAR’s role away from the field of play.
“We take a look, we have all the angles, we evaluate it, we recommend a review and then the referee has the final decision.
“At the end of the day, we just make a recommendation to the referee. It’s their decision.”
At the Women’s World Cup – which wasn’t the case at the men’s – referees announce the VAR decision and give an explanation as to how the decision was reached over a loud speaker system inside the stadium.
Read more about Penso’s refereeing career here.
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