This is how Spanish football's new low-cost VAR will work.

BarcelonaLow-cost VAR has arrived in Spanish football. The RFEF has announced that the Spanish First Federation will have this new video refereeing system this season after a flood of complaints from teams in the division. Thus, Club Nàstic de Tarragona, CE Sabadell, and CE Europa will debut this technology when the competition begins.

FIFA has been testing this VAR for smaller leagues, the main advantage of which is the reduction in costs compared to elite VAR. The required infrastructure is minimal (between 4 and 8 cameras) and it can be implemented on any playing field. The downside is that the limited variety of cameras can hinder decision-making, as referees can evaluate controversial actions with blurred images or with pinpoint offsides that they cannot reliably resolve.

Even so, the change has been well received by clubs in the First Federation, as this measure is in line with the professionalization of a category that is currently still lacking. Furthermore, the F League is also working on the option of incorporating low-cost VAR in the face of the impossibility of having a professional VAR, because most teams play on pitches that do not meet the necessary requirements.

How does low-cost VAR work?

This video refereeing system has a very different procedure than traditional VAR. Teams are entitled to two reviews related to a goal, a penalty, a sending-off, or a mistaken identity. To send the referee to the monitor, the coach must give the fourth official a card, and the fourth official will inform the main referee that the match must be stopped. It is vital that the request be made before play has restarted for it to be valid.

If the procedure is correct, the referee will review the controversial action on the monitor. A replay technician will be responsible for providing him with the best available camera views. If the referee ultimately decides to reverse his decision, the team will be given the review request card for reuse.

Nàstic de Tarragona, one of the biggest victims

One of the biggest casualties of the lack of VAR has been Nàstic de Tarragona. In the last two finals for promotion to the Second Division, the Catalans have suffered controversial decisions that have decisively harmed them. On the eve of last summer, they saw Málaga CF snatch promotion away from them in the last minute after a highly controversial performance by Eder Mallo Fernández, which prompted the Tarragona club to report the Basque referee to the ordinary courts alleging "sporting corruption and document falsification."

This year, the Catalan team revived ghosts of the past at the Real Sociedad reserve team's ground. They had equalized the Basque team's two-goal lead before Málaga native Domínguez Cervantes awarded a non-existent penalty in the second half of extra time. Before the start of the promotion playoffs, Nàstic had formally requested the Spanish Federation to prohibit all matches of the play-off were played with VAR, but the request, supported by all the clubs involved, fell on deaf ears.