UEFA has decided to fast-track the use of video assistant referees for the Champions League knockout stages this season, its president Aleksander Ceferin said on Monday.
European football's governing body opted against using VAR this season, regardless of the technology being employed by major European leagues, including Spain's La Liga, Germany's Bundesliga and Serie A in Italy and was generally seen as a success at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Ceferin flagged newly that a report being prepared by UEFA's referees chief possibly will allow its Executive Committee to change its stance.
It also agreed on Monday to roll out the technology in this season's Europa League final and next June's finals of UEFA's new Nations League competition.
“We are ready to use VAR earlier than initially planned and we are convinced that it will be beneficial for our competitions as it will provide valuable help to match officials and will allow reducing incorrect decisions.”
UEFA referees chief Roberto Rosetti said UEFA would use the same protocol as other associations but would seek in its guidelines to define the line of an intervention clearly.
“We are speaking about consistency, uniformity. The communication is another key part of the project. We have to be very clear and communicate in the best way to the fans, players and coaches,” Rosetti said.
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago
