VAR 'wouldn't exist if I were president,' says ex-UEFA boss Michel Platini

Tom Weber

• 12 Oct 2025 04:03 CDT
• 3 min read

News

France legend and former UEFA president Michel Platini has once again voiced his opposition to the video assistant referee (VAR) system.

VAR has become an integral part of the game globally over the past decade. Gianni Infantino took office as FIFA president in February 2016 and swiftly moved to implement a video assistant referee system.

Initial VAR trials were carried out in the summer of 2016, and the technology quickly spread all over the world following its first official implementation in Australia's A-League in 2017.

Opposition to video refereeing has been widespread from the start. Infantino's predecessor, Sepp Blatter, vehemently disagreed with the use of VAR and several notable former players, such as Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer, have criticised the system for 're-refereeing' games.

A lack of transparency, lengthy delays and questionable decisions have also led to general resistance from fans. In the German Bundesliga, supporters regularly voice their opposition to VAR and the German federation, the DFB, by chanting 'sh*t DFB' during reviews.

Platini: 'VAR wouldn't exist if I were president'

Former UEFA president Michel Platini has also openly declared his disapproval of VAR at a conference in Trent, Italy, hosted by Gazzetta dello Sport. "If I were FIFA president today, this system wouldn't exist," the legendary former France player said.

"VAR doesn't solve the problems because the issues lie elsewhere. Football must remain human. The only thing VAR could be used for is determining offside. Everything else is subject to interpretation, and referees should make decisions based on the rules, not on monitors."

This isn't the first time the 70-year-old has hit out at VAR, either. Back in 2020, Platini thundered: "I said it from the first day, I didn't carry it with me, I declared my opposition to technology, especially if it is used in this way.

"Football cannot be judged by video. Television distorts the entire perception of individual incidents. Football is a contact sport. There are regular interventions, which, if passed through the TV filter and slowed down, lead to unacceptable interpretations.

"A foul must be evaluated and judged in real time. VAR also kills the excitement of the goal, it forces the player to celebrate it five minutes later, and sometimes twice."

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