Pierluigi Collina, Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, has confirmed that the use of VAR technology is one of the best changes in the history of football.

Collina said in statements to the official website of FIFA today, Thursday, “I remember today well, a historic day. ".

"We were all very curious to see the result, but I must also admit there was some tension, it was the first time though," Collina added.

"I remember sitting in a pickup truck outside the stadium in Bari with the then new FIFA president (Gianni Infantino), where this technology is, and I was explaining to Infantino how VAR works," Collina said.

🗣️ “VAR has not brought the “end of football”…it is now part of the fabric of our sport and it is hard to imagine football without it.”


📺 Pierluigi Collina reflects on the six-year anniversary of VAR


👉 https:/ /t.co/Cebx7TZgtJ pic.twitter.com/bjTtJAXjqT

— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) September 1, 2022

He continued, "It was on September 1, 2016, and in the six years since VAR did not succeed (in ending football) as some reported at the time, but it has now become part of the fabric of our sport, which is difficult to imagine football. without it."

"I remember the first time we discussed such a technique with the aim of preventing incorrect decisions to change the match on the field, we were at the meeting of the International Football Association Board in Belfast in 2014 and the idea was considered for the first time," the Italian referee revealed.

"It seemed like a daydream at the time, but it only took two years to go from an idea to being implemented at the highest level in football," Collina noted.

He said, "VAR was used only in a few countries, and there were very few match officials who had a lot of experience with the technology, but FIFA arbitration and the Department of Technology and Innovation at FIFA worked very hard, and VAR achieved The 2018 FIFA World Cup was a huge success, and it was the best possible response to those who were waiting for this technology to fail, they were disappointed."

"I and Infantino had great confidence that the VAR technique would work and bring more fairness and justice in football matches," Collina confirmed.

"VAR technology has been one of the biggest changes in the history of football, so it is known that it takes a long time to understand and appreciate it," he stressed. "Encouraging players, coaches, fans and the media to better understand technology and its uses has been a crucial goal for us over the past years."

#VamosGuate |

Pierluigi Collina, jefe de árbitros de la FIFA y Arsène Wenger director de desarrollo mundial del futbol, ​​también hacen presencia dentro de la conferencia de prensa de Gianni Infantino en el Domo Polideportivo de la Zona 13 https://t.co/5ZEOYIX2

📹: @noel_solis pic.twitter.com/3j9k3atgkT

— El Mejor Equipo (@EUDeportes) August 30, 2022

semi-automated intrusion

"There is now greater awareness around the world of video-assisted arbitration and it is becoming more widely accepted, however improvements can always be made, we know this, we know that sometimes it still takes a long time to make a final decision, so We need to speed up this process to that end, we will see semi-automated stealth technology working with VAR at the Qatar World Cup."

"The new technology will make decisions faster, reducing the time needed to check whether the goal was scored correctly or not, and the video match officials will be automatically provided with images of each offside incident," the FIFA Referees Committee Chairman explained.

Collina continued, "A new visualization of graphics will also be broadcast on TV and inside the stadium to give fans a greater understanding of decisions. This technology will also make the mouse technology more accurate thanks to the (connected ball) that determines the moment of contact and the tracking system that determines the exact location of the players."

Collina concluded: "In line with the vision of its President Gianni Infantino, FIFA continues to harness technology to help governance and make the game we love more fair and transparent.