Report on World Cup plans
Will the video referee be allowed to report more often soon?
12/02/2025 – 1:02 p.mReading time: 1 min.
The video referee remains a hotly debated topic in Germany. And it may become even more present next year.
At the 2026 World Cup, video referees could have significantly more influence on the game than before. This is reported by the British newspaper “The Times”.
Accordingly, FIFA is planning to significantly expand the powers of the VAR. In the future, second yellow cards and corner kick decisions will also be allowed to be reviewed at the tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada. So far, according to the rules, VAR is only allowed to intervene in the case of direct red cards, goals, penalties and possible mix-ups in the awarding of cards.
Specifically, top FIFA officials want to ensure that corners can be reviewed if the VAR has the impression that the referee has misjudged the situation. Intervention should also be possible in the future for yellow-red decisions. Pure yellow cards remain unaffected – these should continue to be assessed exclusively by the referee team.
The initiative is justified by the special significance of a world championship. It is crucial that critical game situations under the greatest pressure are assessed as correctly as possible.
The proposals are due to be presented to the International Football Association Board (Ifab) at its general meeting on January 20th in London. This committee advises and decides on rule changes in international football.
But not everyone is convinced of the planned changes. An Ifab advisory committee, which includes former professionals, coaches, referees and association representatives, has already warned that further VAR intervention rights could further impair the flow of the game.