Why Libertadores will have remote VAR in games in Brazil and Argentina

Conmebol will test VAR in a remote booth at the World Cups liberators It is South American in 2023. But with a particularity: only in matches played in Brazil and Argentina. The South American confederation set up an arbitration technological center, called Ceta, at its headquarters in the city of Luque, Paraguay, with the structure for video referee rooms.

Starting the VAR process in a remote booth, that is, outside the stadiums where the matches for Brazil and Argentina take place has a technical explanation: the fiber optic cables needed for the images to reach Luque in real time are now more present in both countries . Conmebol’s idea is that in a few years the facility will be applied to all, or almost all, clashes.

As it will be in the testing phase, all games in which the remote booth will be used will also have VAR professionals and all the equipment set up in the stadiums, as is already done today, in case of any technical problems. At first, the field referee will be in contact with the professionals in Luque via headphones, but this can change during the match if necessary.

Conmebol’s management is evaluating whether it will be possible to start testing in the “pre” Libertadores, as the first three phases of the competition are known in Brazil. Fortaleza and Atlético-MG will play at the beginning of March as hosts, respectively against Deportivo Maldonado (URU) and Carabobo (VEN), for the second stage, and Huracán, from Argentina, will face a rival yet to be defined.

In the group stage of Libertadores and Sul-Americana, which starts in April, tests will be intensified. Flamengo, Palmeiras, Corinthians, Inter, Fluminense and Athletico are classified directly for the Libertadores groups and São Paulo, Santos, Botafogo, Goiás, Bragantino and América-MG for the Sul-Americana.