Footie bosses WILL press ahead with changes to VAR for corners, free-kicks & yellow cards sparking fan fury
FOOTBALL chiefs are ignoring fan fury over VAR by pressing ahead with an expansion of it in the game.
Members of the law-making body IFAB agreed at a meeting yesterday to work on plans for interventions on corners, free-kicks and second yellow cards.
They have agreed on the moves despite a backlash from supporters on the tech and amid fears games could become two-hour marathons due to delays.
It comes after we had revealed how football bigwigs from the four Home Nations and Fifa were planning the VAR shake-up — with the summit taking place at a Heathrow hotel yesterday.
Last night, Fifa referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina confirmed that more VAR calls are on the table.
Collina, 63, said: “We want to go to a second stage.
“It is the right time to consider if something can be changed and VAR used for other things.
“But there is one important criteria that must be respected: we must have no extra delays.”
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham is opposed to adding more decisions to the current VAR focus on goals, penalties and red cards.
But he has just one vote out of the eight IFAB members — with six votes required for any measures to be agreed.
VAR controversies have plagued the Premier League this season — Chelsea’s recent win at Spurs saw a record nine VAR checks during it.
IFAB chief executive Lukas Brud said they would look for feedback from Prem officials and the other European leagues.
However, he added: “If we feel as a group that there’s a need to adjust or improve certain areas of VAR protocol, then we will.”
Fans groups hit out at the plan.
Martin Buhagiar, chair of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust, said: “Rather than going further with VAR, they need to realise it’s not working.”
And Richard Smith of the Arsenal Independent Supporters Association said: “How do they propose to check corners and yellows?
“What would define an issue worth checking?
“It’s none or all — so it’s surely unworkable.”
