Before VAR hits the Premier League for its opening weekend of the 2019/20 season, we asked former referee and VAR Lead Neil Swarbrick all of your questions on football’s hottest talking point.
For the sake of clarity below, VAR will be used to look at goals, penalty decisions, straight red cards or mistaken identity only. A Video Assistant Referee can only advise the on-field referee and not overrule them directly. They may only get involved if the referee has made a clear and obvious error.
Below, a ‘check’ refers to any decision assessed by VAR and ‘review’ means a decision the referee is consulted on which may be overturned when play is stopped.