{
  "id": "var-vs-goal-line-technology",
  "type": "comparison",
  "name": "VAR vs goal-line technology",
  "summary": "VAR and goal-line technology are often conflated. GLT is an automatic system with a single factual scope (did the whole ball cross the goal line) signalled to the match officials within one second; VAR is a human match official who reviews a closed list of match-changing decisions for clear and obvious errors, with the referee taking the final decision.",
  "locale": "en",
  "tags": [
    "comparison",
    "var",
    "goal-line-technology",
    "refereeing",
    "laws-of-the-game"
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "rel": "compares",
      "target": "var"
    },
    {
      "rel": "compares",
      "target": "law-01-field-of-play"
    },
    {
      "rel": "governed_by",
      "target": "law-01-field-of-play"
    }
  ],
  "questions": [
    "What is the difference between VAR and goal-line technology?",
    "Is goal-line technology part of VAR?"
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "c1",
      "text": "Goal-line technology applies solely to the goal line and is used only to determine whether a goal has been scored; its indication must reach the match officials within one second and goes only to them.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-01-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.95
    },
    {
      "id": "c2",
      "text": "The VAR is limited to clear and obvious errors and serious missed incidents in the categories goal/no goal, penalty/no penalty, direct red card and mistaken identity, plus (as a 2026/27 competition option) immediately correcting a clearly incorrectly awarded corner kick.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-var-protocol-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.94
    },
    {
      "id": "c3",
      "text": "In a VAR process the referee must always make an initial decision and always takes the final decision; GLT by contrast delivers an automatic factual signal with no review process.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-var-protocol-2026-27",
        "ifab-law-01-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.93
    }
  ],
  "takeaways": [
    "GLT answers one factual question automatically within a second.",
    "VAR is a human review limited to match-changing categories and clear errors.",
    "The referee always takes the final VAR decision; GLT has no review at all.",
    "GLT lives in Law 1, VAR in its own protocol - competitions may use either or both."
  ],
  "faqs": [],
  "evidence_tier": "primary",
  "evidence": {
    "level": "industry_observation",
    "source_types": [
      "industry_observation"
    ]
  },
  "moat_flag": true,
  "winning_edge": "Explainers usually describe VAR and GLT as one \"technology in football\" topic; this comparison separates their legal basis (Law 1 vs the VAR protocol), scope and decision authority, bound to the 2026/27 texts.",
  "confidence": 0.94,
  "last_verified": "2026-08-08",
  "body": "# VAR vs goal-line technology\n\nBoth entered the Laws in the 2010s, both involve cameras, and broadcasters\nmention them in the same breath. Legally they are different instruments.\n\n## Scope\n\n**Goal-line technology (GLT)** answers exactly one factual question: did\nthe whole of the ball pass over the goal line, in the goal? It applies\nsolely to the goal line. It cannot flag offside, handball or anything else\nabout how the ball got there.\n\n**VAR** covers a closed list of match-changing categories: goal/no goal\n(including offences in the build-up), penalty/no penalty, direct red cards\n(including, from 2026/27, a clearly incorrect second caution), and\nmistaken identity. The 2026/27 protocol adds a competition option: a\nclearly incorrectly awarded corner kick may be corrected if done\nimmediately, without delaying the restart.\n\n## Trigger and process\n\nGLT is automatic. The system signals the match officials within one\nsecond, and only the match officials receive it. There is no review, no\nprotocol, no announcement.\n\nVAR is a human match official reviewing footage. The threshold is a clear\nand obvious error or a serious missed incident. The referee must always\nmake an initial decision, only the referee can initiate a review, and\nsubjective calls require the referee to view the footage on the field.\n\n## Authority\n\nA GLT signal is a factual input the referee acts on directly. In a VAR\nreview, the referee always takes the final decision; the VAR only\nrecommends.\n\n## Legal basis\n\nGLT lives in Law 1 (The Field of Play) with its technical requirements;\nVAR lives in its own protocol annexed to the Laws. A competition can use\nGLT without VAR, VAR without GLT, both, or neither.",
  "canonical_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/var-vs-goal-line-technology",
  "api_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/api/k/var-vs-goal-line-technology.json",
  "jsonld": {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "name": "VAR vs goal-line technology",
    "description": "VAR and goal-line technology are often conflated. GLT is an automatic system with a single factual scope (did the whole ball cross the goal line) signalled to the match officials within one second; VAR is a human match official who reviews a closed list of match-changing decisions for clear and obvious errors, with the referee taking the final decision.",
    "url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/var-vs-goal-line-technology",
    "license": "https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html",
    "dateModified": "2026-08-08",
    "citation": [
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Law 1 — The Field of Play (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/the-field-of-play/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Video Assistant Referee (VAR) protocol (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/video-assistant-referee-var-protocol/"
      }
    ],
    "@type": "Article",
    "headline": "VAR vs goal-line technology"
  }
}