Uefa is planning to change how VAR is used in the Champions League and its other competitions by diluting “microscopic” interference.
There is a noticeable difference in the way VAR is utilised in Uefa competitions compared to some leagues, notably the Premier League and Serie A.
And while The Independent understands Uefa is adamant about retaining VAR for the foreseeable future, there is now a desire to streamline the process.
Moreover, Uefa referees chief Roberto Rosetti is planning to meet with the major European leagues – including the Premier League – following the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup.
The desire is to ensure better alignment on VAR to create more consistency between competitions, which would appease fans and VAR critics.
Uefa are meanwhile planning to only use VAR on corners if it is immediately identifiable before the restart of play, meaning no delay whatsoever.
Another hot topic at Uefa currently is a debate over whether to drop country protection much earlier in the Champions League with some clubs pushing to dilute the Premier League’s power.
This would essentially mean no country protection from the play-off round onwards, since Paris Saint-Germain did meet Monaco in this season’s play-offs due to the nuances of the league phase seeding system.
Meanwhile, it also has plans to trial streaming platforms for the competition in smaller markets, in this case following the lead from the Premier League’s “Premflix” plan for Singapore.
It is the multitude of English clubs in the competition that is currently causing the most debate, despite six being reduced to two for the quarter-finals following the exits of Man City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham.
There is a realisation that the Premier League is virtually certain to get five places every year, amid the possibility that next season could even have seven of the 36 total teams, should Liverpool and Aston Villa finish outside the top five but win the Champions League and Europa League respectively.
Some European officials have been lobbying to drop country protection for earlier rounds – maybe even the league phase – on the basis that it could mean English teams knocking each other out.
Some have pointed to how certain points returns and positions in the league phase were dictated by whether you faced an English team.
There has nevertheless been vociferous debate on this among clubs, especially among those from domestic leagues where there is one dominant side. The topic is subject to further discussion.
Whatever happens, some of those fixtures will eventually appear in Netflix-style streaming in foreign territories, as Uefa and their European Football Club (EFC) partners in UC3 attempt to start investigating new broadcast models.
The Premier League has already announced similar plans, and it is understood that the idea was a particular topic of discussion in negotiations about Real Madrid’s return to the EFC after the Super League.
Such plans were central to the controversial project, and Madrid have only accelerated thinking on it in the time since.
