Football fans across the continent will hope the Euro 2020 VAR team can prevent any refereeing injustice at this summer’s tournament.
As the name suggests, Euro 2020 was originally scheduled for last year, but the coronavirus pandemic forced UEFA to push the tournament back 12 months.
The competition, which will be held in 11 different cities in the same number of countries, starts with a game between Italy and Turkey on June 11.
The final will take place a month later, with England, France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain and Germany all hoping to be walking out at Wembley on July 11.
UEFA confirmed in September 2018 that the video assistant referee (VAR) system would be used in the following season’s Champions League, as well as for the first time in European Championship history at Euro 2020.
"We are confident that introducing Video Assistant Referees in August 2019 will give us enough time to put in place a robust system and to train match officials to ensure an efficient and successful implementation of VAR in the UEFA Champions League, the world’s flagship club competition,” said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
VAR was broadly successful at the 2018 World Cup and has now been in place in the Premier League for two seasons.
The video review system has its supporters and detractors, and the Euro 2020 VAR team will be keen to avoid controversy by getting the big decisions right this summer.
UEFA has appointed 19 refereeing teams for Euro 2020, with each one comprising a referee and two assistant referees.
Each team has also been assigned a unique VAR who will work on the same games as the refereeing team.
English duo Stuart Attwell and Chris Kavanagh will serve as VARs during the tournament, with Lee Betts on offside VAR duty.
UEFA has not yet confirmed where the VARs will be based. There could be one general hub somewhere in Europe, or the governing body could set up local bases close to each of the 11 host stadiums.
