VAR dominates football discourse most weeks and its use in the FA Cup for the 2024/25 season has attracted a lot of attention during third round matches.
The technology has been part of the FA Cup process since 2017/18 but was banned from the third round of the current season, reigniting discussion about VAR in England’s oldest cup competition.
But why was VAR abolished in the third round of the FA Cup?
The FA has made changes to the implementation of VAR in this year’s competition, meaning the technology will now only be used from the fifth round.
Previously, VAR was used in the third and fourth rounds of the competition, but only at Premier League grounds. On the one hand it made sense as the top stadiums already had the technology, but it created an imbalance as different games within the same round of competition ended up having different rules.
From 2024/25, VAR will be used across the board in the fifth round, regardless of venue, creating a fairer ecosystem within the competition.
In a statement about their decision, the FA said: “It has been agreed that VAR will be used for every match in the fifth round of the competition up to the final at Wembley Stadium and will not be in use for the third and fourth rounds.” .
“VAR in the Emirates FA Cup has previously only been used for matches at Wembley Stadium and Premier League grounds due to the infrastructure, manpower and costs required to operate it.
“This decision ensures that there is a consistent refereeing approach for all clubs participating in the same stage of the competition.”
The VAR is not able to intervene in all situations, mainly because there is an aversion to games being re-whistle in any way. West Ham United, for example, would not have felt the benefit of VAR in their loss to Aston Villa on Friday evening, as the fact that referee Tim Robinson incorrectly awarded the Villans a corner does not fall into the four permitted categories.
The VAR can intervene in a game in the following situations. His job is to prevent the referee from making a clear and obvious error on the field.
The on-field referee makes the initial decision, together with his two assistants manning the touchline (if necessary). The VAR will then intervene if it determines that a mistake has been made, but it does not have the final say on the matter. The on-field referee is sent to a pitchside monitor to review the evidence and determine whether or not an error was made.
VAR can also be used to check whether an on-field referee was right to allow a game to continue.