The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) has become common in many top leagues and tournaments around the world.
Since its introduction in 2016 in the Netherlands and in the U.S. second division league, USL, it's been adopted and used by leagues all over the globe. Having the use of video to judge incidents that happened too fast to see in real time has helped referees better officiate matches. But that doesn't mean it isn't without drawbacks.
The Premier League admitted earlier in 2024 that there had been 20 wrong VAR decisions, and there was an infamous misunderstanding in a game between Liverpool and Tottenham that led to an offside decision to stand on a legal goal by Luis Diaz.
However, at least on the international level, VAR is here to stay and it's becoming more refined every year that it's being used. Does that mean we'll see it at the Copa America in the United States this year?
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Is VAR being used at Copa America 2024?
CONMEBOL, South America's soccer confederation, has confirmed that VAR will be in use for every match at Copa America 2024.
Every game will have a central referee, two assistants, a fourth official, and a video assistant referee team.
The use of VAR will follow the same brief as in club games and will be used to check for clear and obvious errors relating to goals, penalty incidents, red cards, and cases of mistaken identity.
Unlike Euro 2024, there will be no semi-automated offside calls, and the goal-line technology will be simpler, with fewer cameras compared to the tournament in Germany and a watch vibration for the on-pitch referee as confirmation of the ball going over the line.
How to watch Copa America 2024 matches
Broadcasters from across the world will be showing the best action from the Copa America. Below are the key details on how to watch and stream matches in some of the major territories.
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | Fox Sports, TUDN, Univision | Fubo, TUDN app/website, ViX |
| Canada | TSN, RDS | TSN+, RDS app |
| UK | Premier Sports 1 | Premier Sports Player |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| India | — | Fan Code |
USA: Fox Sports will broadcast matches via their network of channels including FS1. Fubo is the place to go for US based fans looking to stream matches with the platform offering a FREE trial ahead of Copa America to new users.
TUDN and Univision are the places to go for Spanish listeners looking for TV coverage, with Fubo and ViX live streaming options.
Canada: TSN will broadcast matches with streaming options available on TSN+.
French language channel RDS Sports will be providing the coverage this summer on both TV and streaming services.
Australia: Fans in Australia can follow all the Copa America2024 action live and on demand on Optus Sport.
UK: Matches will be available on Premier Sports 1 and Premier Sports Play.
India: Copa America matches will be available on Fan Code in India.
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