The International Football Association Board has urged VAR officials not to be “too forensic” when judging offsides. “We need to stress ‘clear and obvious’ applies to every situation.”
In Serie A, the Premier League and Champions League this season, some goals have been disallowed for the most millimetric of margins, creating frustration with the presence of VAR.
Now the guidance from the sport’s law-makers is set to change following the annual general meeting in February.
The International Football Association Board has urged VAR officials not to be “too forensic” when judging offsides. “We need to stress ‘clear and obvious’ applies to every situation.”
In Serie A, the Premier League and Champions League this season, some goals have been disallowed for the most millimetric of margins, creating frustration with the presence of VAR.
Now the guidance from the sport’s law-makers is set to change following the annual general meeting in February.
“With VAR we see some things that are going in a direction that we may need to re-adjust,” IFAB general secretary Lukas Brud told the BBC.
“If you spend multiple minutes trying to identify whether it is offside or not, then it's not clear and obvious and the original decision should stand.
“What we really need to stress is that 'clear and obvious' applies to every single situation that is being reviewed by the VAR or the referee.
“In theory, 1mm offside is offside, but if a decision is taken that a player is not offside and the VAR is trying to identify through looking at five, six, seven, 10, 12 cameras whether or not it was offside, then the original decision should stand.
“This is the problem. People are trying to be too forensic. We are not looking to make a better decision, we are trying to get rid of the clear and obvious mistakes.
“If video evidence shows that a player was in an offside position, he was offside full stop. If it's not obvious, then the decision cannot be changed, you stay with the original decision.
“We will be communicating to all competitions that are using VAR some updates in the coming weeks, because we are observing some developments that are not particularly the way they should be.”