Video assistant referees to be used at Conferations Cup: FIFA

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said that video assistant referees (VARs) will be used in the Confederations Cup in Russia this summer.

"We will use it for sure in the Confederations Cup, the Under-20 World Cup and the Club World Cup. VAR is positive because it will allow the right decision to be taken in a game-changing circumstance," he said after the annual meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) at Wembley here on Friday.

Infantino added that he was confident VARs could also be seen at the 2018 World Cup, reports Xinhua news agency.

"That is our aim," he said.

"I'm very confident. The signs are encouraging. The little hiccups we have seen are to do with the training of the referees, but they will be able to take decisions much faster when they use it more often."

The English Football Association (FA) also wanted to test VARs at next season's FA Cup third round.

It also confirmed that clubs will be allowed to use a fourth substitute during extra time from the quarter-finals of this season's FA Cup.

It is the first time four substitutes have been allowed in competitive football in England, although the format was used at last year's Copa America and then the Rio Olympics.

For historic reasons, the IFAB is made up of the football associations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and four representatives from FIFA to represent the rest of the football world.

Each association gets one vote and a three-quarters majority is needed to make a change.

--IANS

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