Rule change to allow VAR intervention on second yellows and awarding of corners

Football’s law-making body has backed plans to extend the use of the video assistant referee system, allowing it to intervene on second yellow cards and the awarding of corners, provided the process “does not slow the flow of play”.

With the speed of the game in mind, the International Football Association Board (Ifab) also expanded the “countdown principle”, where goalkeepers have eight seconds to release the ball from their hands, to include the taking of goal-kicks and throw-ins.

According to Ifab, VAR will intervene on second yellow cards only if there is “clear factual evidence” that they have been wrongly awarded and led to a red card. The same would apply to cases where the wrong team had been penalised for an offence leading to a card. On corners, decisions can be reviewed if they were clearly wrong, provided the check “can be done immediately and without delaying the restart”.

Ifab said the new rules were “specific extensions” of the VAR system and that it did not support expansion of VAR’s remit, arguing it should remain restricted to decisions involving goals, penalties, red cards and mistaken identity. The changes were backed at the body’s annual business meeting on Tuesday, and will probably be ratified at the organisation’s AGM next month.

They were among a series of measures announced by Ifab, with most focused on limiting disruptions to play, a growing concern among lawmakers and competition organisers across Europe. There will also be a 10-second limit imposed on players for leaving the field when substituted.

The news of greater powers for VAR is unlikely to be welcomed by supporters, with frustration over the video technology showing no signs of abating despite many attempts to improve its processes. Last week there was a five-minute delay in the Carabao Cup tie between Newcastle and Manchester City after semi-automated offside technology – brought in to speed up decisions – failed because the system was unable to identify the location of the ball in the lead-up to a City goal which was eventually overturned.