Players To Be Booked For VAR Gestures

By Max Wise

Video Assistant Referees (VAR) will be used for the first time in UEFA competitions next week as the Champions League returns with crunchy fixtures.

Ahead of time, the European football governing body has confirmed that players, who make hand gestures requiring the intervention of the technology will be cautioned.

Former Italian referee Roberto Rosetti, who is UEFA’s chief refereeing officer, confirmed this in a media briefing in Rome ahead of UEFA’s Congress on Thursday.

"Any player who shows the shape of the TV screen needs to be cautioned," said Rosetti.

"And if they surround the referee, there must be disciplinary intervention. We want action in these situations."

Rosetti illustrated his point by showing a clip of Leicester City and England defender, Harry Maguire, in the 2018 World Cup Round of 16 game against Colombia, making the gesture for a review for an apparent headbutt on Jordan Henderson.

"Where Maguire is standing to make the square signal - that is a yellow card," Rosetti said. "We want action in these situations, we don't want players interfering with the referee on reviews."

Rosetti also confirmed that to prevent tension from inflaming among supporters in the stands, incidents under review should not be shown on screens within the stadium.

The English Premier League will start using VAR next season whiles the rest of Europe's top four leagues; the Italian Serie A, Spanish La Liga, French Ligue 1 and German Bundesliga, are already using the technology.