Football’s lawmakers are considering expanding the scope of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system to cover incorrect yellow card decisions, following a discussion at an advisory meeting on Tuesday.
At present, VAR can only intervene in incidents involving straight red cards, penalties, goals or cases of mistaken identity.
However, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) Football and Technical Advisory Panel (FAP-TAP) has debated whether VAR’s remit should include yellow cards that are clearly wrong or unfairly issued.
The proposal is part of a broader discussion about how officiating can be refined to ensure greater accuracy and fairness without increasing interruptions to the game.
Those in attendance also explored ways to improve match flow and timekeeping consistency.
One of the more experimental ideas involved applying countdown-style limits to goal kicks and throw-ins, following the recent rule that penalises goalkeepers for holding the ball for more than eight seconds by awarding the opposition a corner.
The meeting examined how timing mechanisms like these could prevent delays and speed up restarts, particularly as teams increasingly use long throws as attacking weapons.
Data presented to the panels revealed that just over one in four attacking-third throw-ins in the Premier League this season have been sent directly into the box – double the proportion from last term.
In addition to the VAR debate, discussions were held about improving how lost time is compensated during matches to achieve more consistent added-time calculations across competitions.
The group also considered whether ‘marginal offside decisions’ could be relaxed to encourage more attacking football, although further analysis and trials were deemed necessary before any changes could be implemented.
All the proposals discussed remain in the recommendation stage and will be reviewed at IFAB’s Annual Business Meeting on January 20.
Decisions made there will determine which topics are added to the agenda for the organisation’s Annual General Meeting on February 28.
