This Friday marked the official kickoff of the Spanish soccer season with two matches: Rayo Vallecano defeated Girona 3-1, and Villarreal secured a 2-0 win over Actual Oviedo. With Barcelona set to debut on Saturday and Actual Madrid taking the sphere on Tuesday, La Liga begins the brand new marketing campaign with a major overhaul in its method to VAR.
Probably the most notable change is the creation of VAR-PRO—a specialised staff of referees devoted solely to video assistant referee duties for every matchday. This represents a significant shift in how referees are assigned to La Liga video games.
Beforehand, a referee in Spain may very well be designated because the on-field official for one match and function the VAR official the next week. Beginning this season, referees assigned to VAR duties will focus completely on that function, with the purpose of constructing higher specialization and bettering general efficiency.
VAR-PRO will include 15 referees who will probably be assigned to matches in each La Liga and Spain’s second division. As well as, a separate group of VAR analysts will consider the efficiency of those 15 officers and decide their assignments for upcoming fixtures primarily based on these assessments.
Referee Alejandro Quintero González gestures for a VAR assessment in the course of the LaLiga match between RCD Mallorca and RCD Espanyol.
Up to date VAR standards in La Liga
Past the introduction of VAR-PRO, there can even be a shift in how VAR selections are made. Based on Sport, the Referees’ Technical Committee (CTA) believes VAR has been intervening too often in current La Liga matches.
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The brand new goal is to make sure that VAR solely intervenes in circumstances of “clear, apparent, and manifest errors,” with Sport reporting that the system ought to now act “as a security internet and never as a filter for each play that happens throughout matches.” The hope is that this adjustment will cut back the variety of stoppages and assist the sport stream extra easily.
Main innovation in Spain’s second division
Alongside these modifications in La Liga, a groundbreaking trial will probably be launched in Spain’s second division that might finally make its solution to the highest flight. The system, often known as Soccer Video Assist (FVS), shares an identical philosophy with tennis’s Hawk-Eye know-how.
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Till now, using video know-how in soccer has been solely referee-driven—that means solely the officers can provoke a assessment. FVS modifications that by permitting groups to actively request evaluations.
This season, coaches in Spain’s second division will probably be allowed two assessment requests per match for key conditions resembling objectives, penalty selections, or purple playing cards. If the referee evaluations the play and agrees with the coach’s problem, the staff retains that assessment alternative for future use throughout the identical match.
