VAR (Video Assistant Referees) have become a dominant topic of conversation in football in recent years, with the use of video assistant officials causing controversy with players, coaches and fans alike.
However, despite its opinion-splitting reputation, the technology looks set to stay in place for the foreseeable future at the highest level of club and international football matches.
The Premier League will continue with VAR for the 2024/25 campaign following a recent vote, which saw 19 of the 20 clubs in England's top-flight opt to keep it in place for next season.
As FIFA continues to work with its continental federation partners, VAR has moved into more national team competitions, and fans at Euro 2024 can expect to witness plenty of VAR calls in the coming weeks.
MORE: Full schedule of Euro 2024 matches and latest results | FIFA Rankings for all Euro 2024 teams
Is VAR being used at Euro 2024?
UEFA confirmed that VAR will be in use throughout the entirety of Euro 2024. A VAR will be assigned to each game in the tournament, which will also have two assistant VARs and three video operators.
All will be stationed at the Euro 2024 football technologies hub in Leipzig and have direct lines of communication to match officials at each of the 10 stadiums in use at Euro 2024.
The use of VAR will follow the same brief as in club games and will be used to check for clear and obvious errors relating to goals, penalty incidents, red cards and mistaken identity.
It is the first time VAR will be used in a European Championship tournament, after being adopted for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Semi-automated offside calls will also be in action at the Euros. Each match ball at the tournament will feature Adidas connected ball technology which will be used to establish point of contact, as well as handball decisions.
Goal line technology has been used at the last two European Championships and will be in place in Germany to alert match referees to goal/no goal situations where it is unclear if the ball has crossed the goal line.
How VAR calls are displayed on big screen for fans inside stadium
Before the tournament, UEFA promised to improve the experience for match-going fans by committing to showing VAR decisions on the big screen inside the stadium.
The idea is to give supporters in the stands a clearer idea as to why an on-field decision has been made, or overturned, following communication between VAR and referee.
Roberto Rosetti, UEFA's managing director for refereeing, said: "This is something new. I think it's very, very, very interesting. We want to give, after the opinion of VAR, a technical explanation for the public. In live, simultaneously, the UEFA expert will prepare the explanation, a technical explanation about what happened in the specific situation."
This was seen in the opening match of the tournament between Germany and Scotland at Signal Iduna Park through two first-half incidents.
Firstly, Germany's Jamal Musiala, who had already scored his team's second goal, won a penalty in the 25th minute after being tripped by a combination of Kieran Tierney and Ryan Christie. However, referee Clement Turpin was encouraged to check the pitchside monitor and change his decision to a free-kick, as the initial contact occurred outside the penalty area. The explanation was then published on the big screen.
How VAR is made clearer for fans - just explaining decisions now #euro2024 pic.twitter.com/yoWSMhPfOX
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) June 14, 2024
In the 44th minute, after Turpin initially did not award a foul following a heavy challenge from Ryan Porteous on Ilkay Gundogan, the referee again checked the monitor and swiftly changed his decision, giving Germany a penalty and issuing a red card to the defender. This, too, was explained to fans via the big screen.
How to watch Euro 2024 matches
Broadcasters from across the world will be showing the best action from Euro 2024. Below are the key details on how to watch and stream matches in some of the major territories.
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | Fox Sports, TUDN, Univision | Fubo, TUDN app/website, ViX |
| Canada | TSN, TVA | TSN+, TVA app/website |
| UK | BBC, ITV, STV | BBC iPlayer, ITVX, STV Player |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| India | — | Sony Sports Network |
USA: Fox Sports will broadcast matches via their network of channels including FS1. Fubo is the place to go for US based fans looking to stream matches with the platform offering a FREE trial ahead of the tournament to new users.
TUDN and Univision are the places to go for Spanish listeners looking for TV coverage, with Fubo and ViX live streaming options.
Canada: TSN will broadcast matches with streaming options available on TSN+.
French language channel TVA Sports will be providing the coverage this summer on both TV and streaming services.
Australia: Fans in Australia can follow all the Euro 2024 action live and on demand on Optus Sport.
UK: Matches will be available on free-to-air services in the UK split between the BBC, ITV and STV in Scotland. Streaming is on the BBC iPlayer, ITVX and the STV player.
India: Euro 2024 matches will be available on Sony LIV in India.
If Euro 2024 is not available to watch live in your location or if you’re traveling abroad, you can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPNs offer a secure and private online connection, allowing you to bypass geographical restrictions to access your favorite streaming services from any device anywhere in the world.
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