Rules, standards, and the Video Assistant Referee in football

Introduced with the hope of reducing refereeing errors and increasing “football justice”, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) has attracted much criticism from players and spectators alike. Drawing on evidence from domestic and international competitions from the past three years, this article investigates the problems that have become apparent with the system. It argues that the success of technological aids like the VAR depends on the nature of the norms on which they adjudicate. Just like legal norms, football laws can be divided into rules and standards. While the VAR has the ability to make a substantial contribution to enforcing the former, its added value for policing the latter is more limited.