VIDEO ASSISTANT REFEREES (VAR) will be introduced in this Champions League knockout stages when they start in February, Uefa confirmed today.
The system was due to be introduced in next season’s Champions League, starting from the qualifying rounds in August, but was given the green light to be fast-tracked by Uefa’s executive committee at a meeting in Dublin this morning.
The committee were satisfied with the system after its initial use in this year’s World Cup, and will also use the technology for next summer’s Nations League finals in Portugal.
The system is already in use in Serie A and a formal request was made for it to be introduced in the Premier League from next season after Southampton’s Charlie Austin had a goal controversially disallowed in a 1-1 draw with Watford.
Similarly controversial decisions have been awarded in this year’s Champions League group stages, with Cristiano Ronaldo getting sent off against Valencia and Raheem Sterling winning a penalty for tripping against Shaktar Donetsk.
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