Overview
- UEFA published the Clear Line guidance on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, and instructed officials to restrict VAR interventions to only clear and obvious errors.
- Clear Line is an online reference tool with about 150 scenario videos meant to standardize how VAR is used and to make decisions more transparent.
- Referees are told to finish most VAR checks in roughly 60–90 seconds, accept the risk of missing marginal calls, and avoid long, "microscopic" multi-angle hunts for evidence.
- The guidance reduces reliance on single freeze-frames by showing multiple real-time replays and gives more weight to the context and dynamics of challenges when judging red cards.
- National bodies can adapt the guidance: the DFB said it will follow the new line and prefers reviews to be resolved within two camera angles, while the Bundesliga will continue to exclude routine corner-kick checks.