Uefa referees’ chief Roberto Rosetti has said that some VAR reviews ‘were not connected with football’ after meeting with leaders from the top European leagues last month. He was speaking as he launched Clear Line, a first-of-its-kind portal for fans designed to explain when a VAR should, and should not, intervene.
The lead referee officers from England, Spain, Germany, France and Italy met with Rosetti and David Elleray, the Ifab’s technical director, to try to find a more uniform approach to decisions. Rosetti said there was no satisfaction anywhere about how VAR is impacting football, adding that context is important and that officials need to avoid ‘microscopic situations’.
Handball inconsistency across leagues
Rosetti admitted that finding a consistent approach across all leagues, which tend to interpret certain offences differently, would be difficult. Handball remains a particular problem across football.
The Premier League had the most relaxed interpretation of handball last season, with a penalty every 17.27 games. The Bundesliga followed at 10.93 games per handball penalty, then La Liga on 10.56, Serie A on 10.00 and Ligue 1 at 9.27. In the Champions League, a handball penalty came every seven games, the highest frequency in Europe.
On Clear Line, Uefa has uploaded video examples of handball situations to explain what is considered an offence. Rosetti said the aim was to be more consistent in applying the laws, whilst acknowledging that perceptions of handball in England differ and that similar situations will continue to be interpreted differently.
Too many reviews affecting player behaviour
The Premier League had the lowest VAR intervention rate in Europe in the 2025-26 campaign at 0.29 per game, compared with 0.47 per game in the Champions League. Rosetti said there were ‘too many reviews’ and that increased interventions were affecting player behaviour, with players attempting to play for or earn video decisions.
He said officials wanted to return to the original purpose of VAR, referencing Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal for Argentina against England at the 1986 World Cup. Rosetti said they were no longer happy with the current use of VAR and wanted to put referees back at the centre of decision-making.
Rosetti also raised concerns about the length of VAR reviews, saying lengthy checks featuring multiple television replays were less acceptable to supporters. He said any check longer than 90 seconds risks ‘losing credibility’.
A new collective protocol was agreed whereby, when at the monitor, a referee would be shown a freeze-frame for point of contact, followed by half-speed footage, then full speed to assess the intensity of a challenge. Rosetti said he liked referees with personality who take decisions on the pitch, with VAR intervening only for clear and obvious situations.
He said some on-field reviews had not been connected with football, stressing that it should be about normal speed and context. Rosetti described Clear Line as a guide for all people involved in football rather than officials, covering penalties, red cards, attacking offences, factual decisions and mistaken identity with video examples. He said it was intended as a resource for clubs, players and fans to check incidents against after matches.
