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VAR hot topic at UEFA coaches’ meeting

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NYON, SWITZERLAND (NOVEMBER 11, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) A.S. ROMA COACH, PAULO FONSECA, SAYING:

"We talked a lot about it, but with no conclusion. It is a very, very difficult situation. [JOURNALIST ASKING: Still a lot of controversy?] Yes, it's difficult to find an ideal situation for the VAR situation."

2. (SOUNDBITE) (French) OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS COACH, RUDI GARCIA, SAYING:

"We can also give the players' and coaches' opinion to improve some rules, but I think it is going in the right direction, even if regarding the VAR, which is a great tool, but it is only its use that needs to improve."

3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNION OF EUROPEAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATIONS (UEFA) COMPETITIONS DIRECTOR, GIORGIO MARCHETTI, SAYING:

"Well, you know, this is a work in progress. Let us not forget that VAR is very young. It probably -- it is a revolution in the game, it probably necessitates quite, quite some time to, to be fully understood by everyone; to have what we all need and want of course, which is uniformity. VAR is a great help to the game, but it must not change the game."

STORY: As they left a UEFA coaches' meeting on Monday (November 11), AS Roma coach Paulo Fonseca and Olympique Lyonnais coach Rudi Garcia said the Video Assisted Referee (VAR) was a hot topic of conversation with Garcia saying use of the technology needs to be improved.

The coaches' meeting at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland comes after another controversial weekend for VAR in the Premier League in which the technology led to a Sheffield United goal being disallowed for offside against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City being denied a penalty for handball against Liverpool.

VAR was introduced in the Premier League this season after trials in the League Cup and FA Cup.

Fonseca said VAR was a topic of conversation as more than a dozen elite European coaches gathered here, but that no conclusions were made.

Garcia defended the technology as a useful tool, but said improvements were imperative.

UEFA competitions director Giorgio Marchetti said the use of VAR was still a "work in progress," adding that the use of the technology is still relatively new to the sport.

Some pundits have lambasted the system which has also infuriated fans around the world, mostly for decision-making delays which take up to several minutes.