The 1,000 Plays Rectified by VAR: How Matches are Rewritten in La Liga

Since the summer of 2018, Spanish football has changed. Players and fans have learned to celebrate goals with caution, sometimes cheering minutes later, as happened with Atlético Madrid's Ángel Correa, who enjoyed his goal from the bench after a lengthy VOR room deliberation. If a goal is scored against you, there might be a second chance. It all depends on whether the referee hears those magic words through the earpiece. The Video Assistant Referee —VAR to the fans— has introduced a new way to enjoy the beautiful game, with new concepts like 'high behind' or 'on-field review', and even phrases for the collective memory: "All good, José Luis." Six years and 2,570 matches later, the VOR room, where referees are called to review plays or communicate offsides, has accumulated 1,000 re-arbitrated interventions in La Liga.

VAR intervenes once every 2.5 matches. Some seasons more, others less, but always exceeding a hundred participations. The maximum, so far, was reached in the 2022-2023 season, with 179 actions, although the current campaign is set to break all records. "When VAR intervenes a lot, something is happening," exclaimed Medina Cantalejo, former referee and current president of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), in a press conference before the start of the 2023-2024 season. What is happening? That is the question.

These figures only account for interventions marked by the VAR Protocol established by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which every fan already —note the irony— knows. According to the regulations, transferred to Spain by the Spanish Football Federation, VAR can assist the referee only in cases of "clear, obvious and manifest error" or "serious unnoticed incident" concerning: goal/no goal; penalty/no penalty; direct red card (not second caution); or mistaken identity.

In Spain, the VOR room, located in the City of Football in Las Rozas (Madrid), has a particular focus on penalties. Four out of ten interventions are related to actions in the penalty area. They are followed by goal actions —offside or prior foul— with 39.59% of the reviews. Together, they account for nearly 80% of VAR actions in La Liga.

That promise from Medina Cantalejo of "no penalty will be called for low-intensity contacts" resulted in a decrease in penalty reviews, dropping from 54, 51, and 47 reviews in previous seasons to just 40 in that campaign. However, the trend has reversed this season: with five rounds to go, VAR has already asked the referee to review 49 potential penalty actions, the third-highest figure since its implementation.

Although in recent seasons visits to the penalty spot have decreased —30% less since the peak of 2019-2020—, the influence of VAR is growing: currently, 36.52% of penalties are awarded after monitor review, almost three points above the historical average.

Since its implementation, VAR has transformed the way goals are celebrated: now, ecstasy or disappointment can arrive a minute after the action. Until this season, everything depended on the time needed to "draw the famous offside lines"; now, the work is more technical with semi-automatic offside.

From this season, the lines have been replaced by 3D images thanks to SAOT, as the semi-automatic offside is called. This technology allows for instant determination of whether a player is in an illegal position. It uses a system that identifies body points with which a goal can be scored, thanks to a dozen cameras installed in the stadium, not counting the broadcast cameras. Additionally, the ball sends 500 signals per second, allowing the exact moment the player's boot contacts the ball in the last pass to be identified.

Why semi-automatic? Because although the system detects a possible infraction, the final decision rests with the referees in the VOR room, who manually verify with the help of the 3D-generated image.

The arrival of this technology has led to an increase in disallowed goals, but also in controversies. Of the 1,078 calls to VAR, in 1,000 cases the main referee has accepted the recommendation. Only in 7.42% of the occasions has he decided to maintain his initial judgment.

Going to the monitor is usually synonymous with changing the decision. This season, as in 2022-2023, only 5% of reviews ended with a discrepancy between referee and VAR.

As in life, everything depends on the perspective or the scarf one wears tied to the wrist. Harmed or benefited? In favour or against?

The team that has given VAR the most 'work' in its first 1,000 interventions that have changed actions on the field has been Real Madrid. 6.78% of its actions have been in decisions that have favoured the white club, whether penalties in their favour; annulments of maximum penalties; goals awarded or red cards annulled or given to the opposing team. They are followed by Atlético Madrid with 6.22% and then Valencia. In absolute figures, Carlo Ancelotti's team accumulates 73 interventions - the only one with more than 70 - while Cholo Simeone's team has 67 and Valencia, 62, like Villarreal. What about FC Barcelona? 57, like Athletic Club.

Does this mean they always benefit? Not necessarily. Real Madrid receives favourable decisions in six out of ten cases; Barcelona, although with fewer total interventions, has a higher percentage of positive resolutions.

Do they favour some more than others? The data suggests that big teams receive more decisions in their favour both in absolute numbers and in proportion, while smaller teams have less favourable weight and tend to be disadvantaged more often. Does this mean they are harmed? It may simply be that big teams generate more reviewable plays in attack.

In Cádiz - only considered when the Cadiz team has been in the First Division - it is the one that has 'suffered' the most VAR interventions when reviewing penalties. The same feeling is shared in Granada and Almería. However, the most disadvantaged are the Vitorians of Alavés.

Although not always are mid or lower table teams disadvantaged. Since VAR arrived, Getafe has taken 21 penalties, of which 19 have been awarded via monitor. Benefited or disadvantaged? Would they have been sanctioned without VAR?

The highest number of infractions in favour within the area signalled at the behest of VAR is held by Villarreal with 21, followed by the aforementioned Getafe and then Athletic Club (17) and Real Madrid and Valencia, both with 16.

Since the implementation of VAR in the 2018-2019 season, Las Palmas leads the ranking of teams most benefited by the annulment of goals against, with 33.3% of favourable interventions. They are followed by Real Madrid (30.0%) and Barcelona (28.6%), who have also seen how video arbitration has stopped their rivals' goals on several occasions. However, the Blaugrana team stands out negatively as the one that has ended up conceding the most goals after VAR review, with 15.9%.

Meanwhile, Real Valladolid presents a curious case: despite benefiting from 23.6% of annulments against, it is the team that has seen the most of its own goals disallowed (27.3%). Other clubs like Sevilla and Real Sociedad show balanced figures, while Valencia CF and Celta de Vigo are at the bottom both in annulments in favour and goals conceded after review. The analysis highlights the impact VAR has had on the dynamics of LaLiga's main teams.

VAR arrived in LaLiga on 17 August 2018 and since then has intervened on a total of 1,078 occasions. Of all these, it has "corrected" - not "re-arbitrated" as referees avoid saying - 1,000 plays. From that goal not awarded on 19 August 2018 at the Estadio de Vallecas to the penalty awarded last Saturday in favour of Osasuna. Almost 2,450 days and over 2,600 matches later, VAR acts in 8 out of 10 to correct a significant refereeing error.

Six years after its implementation, VAR has not only modified decisions but also emotions, game rhythms, and narratives of each match. The technology is here to stay, but its impact on the perception of justice continues to generate debate. With the implementation of semi-automatic offside and a growing demand for transparency, the future of VAR in LaLiga is not so much about intervening more or less, but about ensuring that players, coaches, and fans once again trust that each review is truly a guarantee of fairness and not a new source of controversy.