UEFA restricts VAR and chooses a different path from FIFA: from the 2026/27 season, there will be no "re-refereeing" from the video room
Ahead of the start of the 2026/27 season, UEFA agreed on a common European approach to the use of video assistance, discipline and measures against time-wasting. The chief refereeing officials of all 55 national associations met with UEFA's refereeing leadership and a representative of the International Football Association Board, IFAB, after which European football's governing body announced that VAR may intervene only when the on-field referee's decision is clearly wrong or when a clear and important incident has been missed. The emphasis is not on abolishing the technology or narrowing the formal list of situations that may be reviewed, but on restoring the original threshold for intervention. UEFA says that the video assistant must support the referee, rather than act as a second referee who reassesses every contact, hand movement or nuance in the intensity of a foul from the control room.
The agreement was announced on 28 July 2026 and was chaired by UEFA's managing director of refereeing, Roberto Rosetti. According to him, the alignment of all 55 associations represents an important step towards a more consistent interpretation of the Laws of the Game in domestic and continental competitions. UEFA believes that clearer standards should make decisions easier to understand for players, clubs, supporters and other participants. In practice, the biggest test will be consistency: the same threshold for intervention must apply across different leagues, qualifiers and European cups, regardless of the number of cameras, the importance of the match or the pressure surrounding a particular incident.
"Clear and obvious error" once again becomes the genuine threshold
UEFA's message about a VAR "reset" stems from dissatisfaction with reviews that take a long time and end with an analysis of details that the referee on the field could not reasonably have assessed differently. In its official announcement, the European organisation states that lengthy, almost microscopic checks are often a sign that the initial decision was not clearly and obviously wrong. Such analyses should therefore be limited. This does not mean that a complex situation may never be reviewed several times, but rather that the duration of the process and the need to search for the decisive frame should alert the VAR that there may not be a sufficiently strong reason to change the decision.
Under the current IFAB protocol, the referee on the field must still make the initial decision as though video assistance did not exist, except in the case of a serious incident that was not seen by any member of the refereeing team. VAR then automatically checks situations connected with a goal, a penalty kick, a direct red card and mistaken identity, but recommends a review only when the footage indicates a probable clear and obvious error or a serious missed incident. For subjective assessments, such as the intensity of a challenge, a punishable handball or the impact of an offside player, the final decision generally remains with the referee after an on-field review. UEFA now wants to prevent that procedure from turning into a search for a theoretically "perfect" decision that overrules a reasonable judgement made in real time.
It is also important to note what the new approach does not change. VAR will not stop checking key situations, nor will the referee be forced to retain a decision if the footage clearly shows the opposite. The change is primarily operational: doubt alone is not sufficient for intervention, and slow-motion footage must not automatically carry greater weight than the event shown at normal speed. The IFAB protocol specifically states that slow-motion replays are generally used to establish facts, such as the point of contact or a player's position, while normal speed is used to assess the intensity and naturalness of a movement.
New powers exist, but UEFA does not want interventions to expand without limit
The rules for the 2026/27 season nevertheless expand several areas in which the video assistant may help. IFAB has approved the review of a clearly incorrect second yellow card that resulted in a sending-off, a broader correction of mistaken identity and the possibility of checking an incorrectly awarded corner kick. In the case of a second yellow card, the power is asymmetrical: VAR may correct a clearly incorrect second yellow card and the resulting red card, but may not retrospectively search for a missed offence deserving a second yellow card. This corrects an obvious injustice that leaves a team with ten players, without opening the door to video analysis of every possible yellow-card offence.
In its circular of 2 July, UEFA confirmed that it will use the option to review a clearly incorrectly awarded corner, but only when the decision can be corrected immediately and without delaying the restart. This addition demonstrates the boundary of the European model: technology is accepted when it quickly corrects a verifiable fact, but it should not create a new series of interruptions. An incorrectly awarded corner can lead directly to a goal, so UEFA believes that a brief and unambiguous check can protect the integrity of the match. If the check required a lengthy search through several camera angles, the basic condition for intervention would no longer be met.
Europe is not introducing an automatic red card for covering the mouth
The most pronounced difference between UEFA and the approach used at the 2026 World Cup concerns two optional disciplinary provisions approved by IFAB in April following a FIFA proposal. The first allows competition organisers to punish with a red card a player who, during a confrontation with an opponent, covers their mouth in order to conceal inappropriate, offensive or discriminatory words. The second permits the sending-off of a player who leaves the field in protest against a refereeing decision, as well as the punishment of a team official who encourages such a departure. FIFA applied these measures at the World Cup, but IFAB did not make them compulsory for every competition.
UEFA officially confirmed that, in its competitions, covering the mouth alone will not be treated as an automatic red-card offence. The referee will still be able to show a yellow card if they judge that a player is deliberately concealing communication and is therefore behaving in an unsporting manner. In addition, the decision made on the field does not prevent a subsequent disciplinary investigation if reports, footage, witness statements or other evidence of abuse and discrimination exist. In this way, UEFA is attempting to avoid a situation in which the gesture itself, without evidence of what was said, would automatically lead to the most severe punishment during the match, while simultaneously retaining the possibility of serious proceedings against actual abuse.
During the group stage of the World Cup, FIFA announced that, in the first 72 matches, only one of the ten red cards shown up to that point was connected with covering the mouth during a confrontation with an opponent. That figure does not settle the debate about whether the rule is justified, but it shows that the measure had been applied in a competitive environment before UEFA's final confirmation of its own approach. The European organisation therefore did not reject the objective of combating discrimination, but rather the automatic assumption that a particular gesture must, by itself, result in a sending-off.
Leaving the field in protest is not, by itself, an automatic sending-off either
UEFA will also not use the option under which leaving the field in protest is, by itself, a red-card offence. This does not, however, mean that teams may interrupt matches or refuse to resume play without punishment. The circular reiterates the principle that a team responsible for a match being unable to continue or being abandoned, including a case in which it is reduced to fewer than seven players, generally loses the match in accordance with the rules of the specific competition. UEFA states that the broader principle of responsibility for an abandonment is already incorporated into its competition regulations.
The distinction is therefore between an automatic individual punishment and the consequences of collective conduct. A player who leaves the field to express disagreement will not necessarily be sent off immediately solely because of that action, but the referee and disciplinary bodies may still respond to unsporting conduct, refusal to resume play, abuse or the undermining of the match's integrity. If a team makes it impossible for the match to continue through its conduct, the consequences may be considerably more severe than an individual card, including the match being awarded to the opponent and additional disciplinary measures.
Strict rules against time-wasting remain a shared point
While UEFA departs from FIFA's approach regarding the two optional red-card provisions, it fully accepts the package of measures through which IFAB aims to increase effective playing time. For throw-ins and goal kicks, when the referee determines that the player taking the restart is wasting excessive time, the referee will begin a visible five-second countdown. If the ball is not in play when the countdown expires, the throw-in is awarded to the opposing team, while excessive delay in taking a goal kick results in a corner for the opponents. The countdown therefore does not begin automatically at every stoppage, but only when the referee identifies an unnecessary delay.
During a substitution, the player leaving the field must do so within ten seconds of their number being displayed on the board or the referee giving the signal. If the player fails to do so, they must still leave, but the substitute may not enter immediately; the entry is delayed until the first stoppage after one minute of play has elapsed. In the case of injuries, the basic rule is that a player whose assessment or treatment on the field caused play to be stopped must leave and remain outside the field for one minute after play resumes, subject to the exceptions provided for by the protocol. The objective is to remove the incentive for tactical disruption of the match's rhythm while allowing medical staff to carry out the examination outside the playing area.
After the 72 group-stage matches at the World Cup, FIFA assessed these measures as highly effective. According to data presented by FIFA's chief refereeing officer, Pierluigi Collina, only one substituted player failed to comply with the ten-second limit, four goal-kick countdown violations resulted in corners for the opposing team, and eleven excessively slow throw-ins resulted in possession being awarded to the opponents. UEFA has therefore announced a strict and consistent application of the new rules, believing that a clearly prescribed consequence can reduce time-wasting more effectively than general warnings and the subsequent addition of stoppage time.
The captain remains the link between the players and the referee
The third pillar of the European approach is the strengthening of the protocol under which the captain speaks to the referee about important decisions. UEFA introduced this model at the 2024 European Championship and subsequently extended it to its club competitions. The referee may explain a key decision, including what was checked with VAR, but the explanation is given to the captain, who must approach calmly and respectfully. At the same time, the captain assumes responsibility for moving teammates away from the referee and preventing match officials from being surrounded.
If the captain is the goalkeeper and is far from the incident, the team designates an outfield player who has the right to approach the referee. Other players who ignore the instruction, surround the referee or protest in an inappropriate manner may receive a yellow card. UEFA believes that the system has improved communication and the image of the game, and the agreement for the 2026/27 season provides for it to be reinforced further. IFAB's current guidelines are also based on the principle that only one player from each team, normally the captain, approaches the referee after important incidents, while such a protocol will become compulsory in all competitions from 1 July 2027.
What will actually change in European stadiums
For spectators, the most visible change should be shorter waits after controversial situations and a clearer distinction between a check and a formal review. Most checks will still take place silently, without the referee going to the monitor. When the footage does not reveal an obvious error, the match should resume without a lengthy stoppage and without any attempt to turn every contact into a new refereeing decision. At the same time, rapid factual corrections, including a clearly incorrectly awarded corner, may become more frequent if the technical system confirms them before the restart.
For players and coaches, the message is twofold. UEFA is reducing automatic punishment in relation to the two most controversial disciplinary options, but it is tightening the control of behaviour that delays the match or places pressure on referees. Covering the mouth and leaving the field will not automatically result in a red card without further assessment, but unsporting conduct, discrimination, refusal to play and surrounding the referee remain punishable. For throw-ins, goal kicks, substitutions and injuries, the scope for tactical time-wasting will be considerably smaller because the consequences are now immediate and measurable.
The agreement between UEFA and all 55 associations does not eliminate the possibility of different decisions in subjective situations, but it seeks to reduce differences in methodology. The key to the European VAR "reset" will not be the number of overturned decisions, but the video assistant's ability to identify quickly the cases in which intervention is required and to withdraw equally quickly when the threshold of a clear and obvious error has not been reached. UEFA has announced additional instructions in the coming weeks, so the full impact of the new direction will be assessable only after the opening rounds of European and domestic competitions in the 2026/27 season.
Sources:
- UEFA - agreement among the refereeing officials of all 55 associations, guidelines for VAR, measures against time-wasting and cooperation with captains (link)
- UEFA, Circular 46/2026 - application of optional IFAB rules in UEFA competitions, including corners, covering the mouth and leaving the field (link)
- FIFA and IFAB - package of changes for the 2026/27 season concerning the acceleration of play, substitutions, injuries and the expansion of the VAR protocol (link)
- FIFA and IFAB - decision on optional red cards for covering the mouth and leaving the field in protest (link)
- IFAB - official VAR protocol for the 2026/27 season and the limits of video-assistant intervention (link)
- FIFA - Collina's assessment of the application of the new rules during the group stage of the 2026 World Cup (link)
- UEFA and IFAB - communication rules under which the captain speaks to the referee and is responsible for the conduct of teammates (link)