The Problem With VAR at the 2026 World Cup Isn't the Technology — It's Who Interprets It

At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a video replay system called VAR has become one of the most talked-about topics in soccer. VAR stands for Video Assistant Referee, and it helps on-field officials review close calls during matches. The system was supposed to make the game fairer, but many fans, teams, and experts say it has caused just as many arguments as it has settled. One of the biggest controversies happened during a Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt.

Egypt lost to Argentina 3–2 in that match, even though Egypt had led by two goals. The Egyptian Football Association said that VAR was not used correctly and that some refereeing decisions affected the final score. Because of this, Egypt's soccer officials filed a formal complaint with FIFA, the organization that runs the World Cup. They asked FIFA to investigate what went wrong.

Similar complaints came up throughout the entire 2026 World Cup. Some teams and fans said that goals were canceled for offside calls that didn't seem right. Others argued that VAR was being used to help certain national teams rather than to find the truth. Critics said the technology was supposed to fix refereeing problems, but in some cases it seemed to create new ones.

VAR was first used at a World Cup in 2018, during the tournament held in Russia. FIFA added it to soccer's official rulebook as a support tool for the on-field refereeing team. Since then, the system has been used in more than 100 competitions around the world, including the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. It has grown a lot since its early days.

The VAR system uses 42 cameras during a match, including some that record ultra-slow-motion video. There are also special cameras that detect offside calls automatically using semi-automated technology. All of this footage is available to a VAR team watching from a video review room. If they spot a possible mistake, they alert the head referee on the field.

For the 2026 World Cup, FIFA added new situations where VAR can step in. For example, it can now review certain second yellow cards and fouls before free kicks or corner kicks. Armando Archundia, a former Mexican World Cup referee, explained that new rules were also added to flag players who cover their mouths during confrontations. FIFA made these updates to make sure goals aren't scored under circumstances the referee got wrong.

Fernando Galván, a sports analyst and podcast host, said VAR was brought in to solve a long-standing refereeing problem. In the early days, though, some referees started depending on it too much and let VAR make decisions for them. FIFA's rules for 2026 try to fix this by giving referees more independence while still letting them use VAR as a helpful tool. Both Galván and Archundia agree that technology alone can't replace human judgment.

Even with all the training FIFA provides, many referees around the world have little practice with VAR. Archundia pointed out that only about 20 percent of the countries in this World Cup use VAR in their own leagues. That means most referees only see VAR during international tournaments, not during their regular seasons. This gap makes it harder for them to become truly comfortable with the system.

Some people have wondered if robots or artificial intelligence could one day replace human referees, but those ideas are still far from becoming real. For now, soccer still depends on human referees to make judgment calls — even with the help of advanced cameras and technology. As the sport keeps changing, the rules and training systems will need to keep up. VAR is only as fair as the humans behind it.