VAR to be given even more powers at World Cup as Fifa prepare changes following England goal

Football's governing bodies are actively exploring whether to grant video assistant referees (VAR) additional authority ahead of this summer's World Cup.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is currently examining potential changes to existing protocols that would permit VAR officials to intervene when fouls occur just prior to the ball being put into play.

Pierluigi Collina, who serves as Fifa's chief refereeing officer and leads the Fifa Referees Committee, confirmed that discussions remain ongoing regarding this proposed expansion of video review capabilities.

During a recent briefing, Collina pointed to England's March friendly against Uruguay as a prime example of the problem requiring attention.

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The match ended 1-1, but the Fifa official argued that Ben White's goal should never have been allowed to stand.

Collina explained that Adam Wharton had clearly obstructed Uruguayan defender Jose Maria Gimenez, preventing him from challenging for the ball before White found the net.

"We are convinced that this goal cannot stand, it is completely unfair," Collina stated.

The Italian continued: "At the moment we have no solution, but IFAB is working on it, so we are very confident to receive a clarification from IFAB before the World Cup, saying that VAR can intervene just before the ball is in play.

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"If a foul is committed just before the ball is in play, we are convinced that nobody can object to something."

When pressed on whether this would constitute a protocol adjustment or a fundamental change to the laws of the game, Collina declined to speculate on IFAB's final decision.

He said: "I don't want to spoil the conclusion before it is taken. Of course, we will have some discussion. I think something is being done at the very last moment."

VAR will already see their remit broadened from this summer, gaining the ability to review dismissals stemming from incorrect second bookings and cases of mistaken identity involving yellow cards.

Officials will also be able to intervene when corner kicks have been wrongly awarded rather than goal kicks.

Beyond the VAR discussions, Fifa is also addressing the increasingly common practice of teams exploiting injury stoppages to conduct impromptu tactical meetings with coaching staff.

Collina explained: "We will not allow the teams to go to the benches when a goalkeeper is lying on the ground injured.

"The goalkeeper has the right to be injured, but the players do not have the right to leave the field of play to have some sort of time out with their respective coaches.

"I'm afraid we didn't get a shared solution [on sanctions], a solution agreed by everybody. For this season, IFAB didn't take any decision.

"Certainly something will be done in the future. For the time being, we rely on players' understanding of the problem.

"We told them: 'Be aware that we know' so what we can avoid is having all the players off the field of play.

"There are captains, there are coaches, so certainly referees will be ready to face something like this if it should happen."

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