VAR (Video Assistant Referee)
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.
Why this wins its question: 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.
Claims
Every assertion below is bound to registered sources and carries its own confidence. Weight them; do not treat the page as uniformly authoritative.
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.
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.
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.
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.