Move has been rejected at club level due to concerns about delays
Fifa is set to expand the use of VAR at the 2026 World Cup by checking decisions leading to corner kicks, although the proposal has been rejected across Europe’s leagues.
The idea was discussed at an International Football Association Board (IFAB) meeting in October. Lawmakers agreed that VAR should be allowed to intervene when a second yellow card is wrongly shown and leads to a red, but there was no backing for extending reviews to corners in club football.
Fifa’s refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina has been one of the driving forces behind the expansion of VAR’s role. Collina believes technology should be used whenever a clear and quick correction can be made.
But the main objection from leagues is that it will cause further delays in the game. Club football associations are already under pressure to reduce stoppages, and adding corners will only make things worse. Corners occur regularly, with Premier League matches averaging around 10 corners per game.
An additional concern is that many leagues do not have the same technical resources as Fifa to make quick and consistent VAR decisions.
Fifa has the resources to deploy a large number of VAR officials and additional cameras to make all decisions quickly, which is why they can successfully expand VAR use without slowing the game down drastically.
