FIFA says video reviews are "close to perfection" at
the first World Cup to use the system, claiming
99.3 percent of "match-changing" plays were called
correctly.
The system has had a major impact, with seven
penalties awarded using the video assistant referee
(VAR) system. Two goals were given after being
initially ruled offside, including one by South Korea
that helped to eliminate world champion Germany.
FIFA's referee committee head Pierluigi Collina
claimed on Friday that 99.3 percent of "match-
changing" decisions were called correctly at the
World Cup -- "very, very close to perfection" --
based on assessments by him and other senior ex-
referees. Without VAR, the figure would be 95
percent, Collina said.
That missing 0.7 percent in Collina's statistic is
still bitterly contentious. Serbia's coach suggested
a referee should be sent to a war-crimes tribunal
when his team didn't get a penalty after two Swiss
defenders appeared to hold Aleksandar Mitrovic in
the penalty area, while English media complained
about Tunisian defenders grappling with striker
Harry Kane.
Collina didn't address those plays directly, but
suggested they prompted a warning to referees to
be stricter about holding in the penalty area.
"I think you might have appreciated that at a certain
point of the group phase there were some incidents
which suddenly disappeared," he said. "We had
some holdings and they almost disappeared, but if
they continued they were punished with the
corresponding decision."
That's an example of the refereeing system being
"fine-tuned," Collina said.
VAR means players and viewers expect more from
referees. FIFA's head of refereeing Massimo
Busacca expressed frustration about the interest in
errors.
"Today you are asking to be God, perfect," he said.
"Who is perfect in this life?"
On the whole, FIFA views VAR's rollout as a
success. Before the World Cup, there were
concerns about referees who hadn't used the
system before, about slower games and pedantic
rulings on minor fouls. However, FIFA says the ball
has been in play for longer than at the last World
Cup and total fouls are down through 48 games.
The VAR crews, wearing full referee kit in a
darkened room on the outskirts of Moscow, are
urged to view incidents at normal speed so they
aren't too harsh on slight contact between players.
They can use slow-motion to find the point of
contact, but normal speed to decide how serious it
was.
"Everything with slow-mo or super slow-mo seems
bigger, seems tougher, seems more deliberate,"
Collina said. "Football is a sport where contact
doesn't mean a foul."
The VAR crews have examined 335 incidents -- 6.9
per game -- including all the goals, but flagged only
17 for formal review. Fourteen decisions were
changed and three were upheld.
Collina said he hopes for VAR discussions between
referees and the control room to be part of TV
broadcasts in future. However, FIFA's deputy
secretary general Zvonimir Boban immediately
pushed back against that idea, saying the mix of
languages at the World Cup could make it
"impossible" for broadcasters.
The more VAR is used, the more players demand
it. Players and coaches are constantly drawing a TV
screen with their fingers at this World Cup, but
Collina said referees should only book players if it's
meant to be "disrespectful."
Referees themselves aren't allowed to speak with
reporters, but FIFA says they welcome VAR.
"In some situations, I prayed a lot when something
occurred. I said `My God, what happened?' And
then, at the end I was lucky in very difficult
circumstances. Sometimes I decided without
seeing, only made an interpretation from distance,"
said Busacca, who had a long refereeing career
including two World Cups. "What we want to give to
the referees is this big opportunity not to be lucky."

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