Overview
- Last week UEFA issued a formal directive saying VAR should only overturn 'clear and obvious' or 'blatantly incorrect' decisions and must not be used to re-referee matches.
- Referee chiefs from all 55 European national associations met with IFAB in Nyon and agreed a unified approach to limit lengthy 'microscoping' reviews that extend video checks.
- IFAB and UEFA clarified that the mistaken-identity protocol cannot be used to overturn incidents of simulation for now and that VAR may only identify the correct player for cautions, not change the nature of the offence.
- Officials gave unanimous backing to strict, time-saving restart measures such as timed substitutions and five-second countdowns for goal kicks and throw-ins to increase playing time.
- UEFA said it does not expect to adopt several optional World Cup experiments, like red cards for covering mouths or VAR checks on corners, and promised further implementation guidance in the coming weeks.