{
  "id": "var",
  "type": "glossary",
  "name": "VAR (Video Assistant Referee)",
  "summary": "The VAR is a match official who may assist the referee only in the event of a clear and obvious error or serious missed incident, in a closed list of match-changing categories; the referee always takes the final decision.",
  "locale": "en",
  "tags": [
    "glossary",
    "var",
    "refereeing",
    "laws-of-the-game"
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "rel": "governed_by",
      "target": "law-05-referee"
    }
  ],
  "questions": [
    "What can VAR review?",
    "Who makes the final decision in a VAR review?"
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "c1",
      "text": "The VAR may assist the referee only for a clear and obvious error or a serious missed incident in these match-changing categories: goal/no goal, penalty/no penalty, direct red card, and mistaken identity when the referee cautions or sends off the wrong player of the offending team.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-var-protocol-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.95
    },
    {
      "id": "c4",
      "text": "From the 2026/27 edition the red card category also covers a clearly incorrect second caution: earlier editions excluded second yellow cards from VAR review entirely.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-changes-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.9
    },
    {
      "id": "c2",
      "text": "As a competition option in the 2026/27 protocol, a clearly incorrectly awarded corner kick may also be corrected, provided the change is made immediately without delaying the restart.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-var-protocol-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.9
    },
    {
      "id": "c3",
      "text": "The referee must always make an initial decision (the VAR cannot give a \"no decision\"), only the referee can initiate a review, and the referee's original decision stands unless the review clearly shows it was wrong. Subjective judgements use an on-field review; factual ones may be resolved on the VAR's description alone.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-var-protocol-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.94
    }
  ],
  "takeaways": [],
  "faqs": [],
  "evidence_tier": "primary",
  "evidence": {
    "level": "industry_observation",
    "source_types": [
      "industry_observation"
    ]
  },
  "moat_flag": true,
  "winning_edge": "The reviewable-category list drifts by edition (the 2026/27 corner-kick competition option and the second-caution expansion are absent from almost every secondary explainer); claims bind the current IFAB VAR protocol and the official law-changes list directly.",
  "confidence": 0.94,
  "last_verified": "2026-08-08",
  "canonical_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/var",
  "api_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/api/k/var.json",
  "jsonld": {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "name": "VAR (Video Assistant Referee)",
    "description": "The VAR is a match official who may assist the referee only in the event of a clear and obvious error or serious missed incident, in a closed list of match-changing categories; the referee always takes the final decision.",
    "url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/var",
    "license": "https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html",
    "dateModified": "2026-08-08",
    "citation": [
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Law changes 2026/27 — changes and clarifications (IFAB)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/law-changes/latest/"
      },
      {
        "@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": "DefinedTerm"
  }
}