Football’s lawmakers IFAB are considering whether the use of VAR should be extended to cover corners, free-kicks and second yellow cards.
A VAR working group established by FIFA has been looking into its use and whether video assistant referees should have greater responsibilities.
VAR developments were on the agenda at an IFAB meeting in London on Tuesday, although no decision on any changes is expected until the body’s annual meeting in March.
Updating the handball law was also set to be discussed, along with talks around extending trials of sin-bins for dissent and adopting rugby’s approach where only the captain can approach the referee.
VAR is currently used for clear and obvious errors relating to goals, penalties, straight red cards and mistaken identity. Decisions on free kicks and corners are currently made entirely by the on-field officials, though there have been examples of wrong calls leading to controversy.
Its introduction should improve the overall accuracy of decisions but there are fears that extending VAR responsibilities could lead to even longer delays.
As well as VAR, the treatment of referees has been a major talking point this season and the use of sin-bins to tackle dissent was due to be discussed. Players surrounding officials has become an issue and one idea is the creation of a ‘no-go zone’ around the referee, which only captains can enter, but it would require testing before being brought into the game.
Sin-bins for bad behaviour, which have been trialled in grassroots football, could also be extended into the adult amateur game.
A discussion on updating the handball law for next season was also on the agenda. The law could be changed so that an unintentional handball, which denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, is punished with a yellow card instead of a red.
Meanwhile, about 12 EFL players have told referees’ body PGMOL they are interested in becoming VARs.
The players, who are still playing or recently retired, have spoken to referees’ chief Howard Webb, who mentioned last year his desire to get ex-players to become match officials.
Webb is examining how to speed up the pathway to becoming a top referee and PGMOL recently created the Elite Development Referee Plan, which now has 42 officials.
The development group has had a number of success stories, including Rebecca Welch, who became the first woman to take charge of a Championship match at the start of the year.
The Premier League are also experimenting with different systems of semi-automated offside technology that it is expected to bring in next season.
