FIFA has approved the new ‘VAR Light,’ which will be used in the European League starting this season.
A new kind of VAR is coming to European football, thanks to FIFA’s approval. VAR technology is already used all around the world, and while some people like it, others often debate how it’s used.
Many major European leagues use VAR, but now the Welsh FA is introducing a different version called ‘VAR Light’ in the Novira Cymru Premier — the top football league in Wales. Starting in the 2026/27 season, this simpler version of VAR will help catch clear mistakes that the referee might have missed during the game.
Like traditional VAR, there will be officials watching from a control room during every match. But the big change is that VAR Light will only use four main cameras—two at the halfway line and one at each penalty area line.
VAR Light will focus on five key moments: goals and disallowed goals, penalty incidents, straight red cards, wrong second yellow cards, and cases of mistaken identity. It won’t get involved in regular yellow cards unless there’s a chance they should be upgraded. Also, there won’t be any drawing of lines for close offside calls, only clear ones. The same goes for goal-line technology—they won’t step in for really tight decisions. If the cameras can’t clearly see an incident, it won’t be reviewed.
The Welsh FA explained why they’re introducing VAR Light: “VAR Light isn’t here to re-referee the game. VAR officials can only suggest decisions, but the final call is always made by the referee who reviews the incident on the pitch-side monitor. The only times VAR won’t ask the referee to review are for straightforward decisions — like if a challenge happened inside or outside the box, or if a player is clearly onside or offside.”
The Welsh FA also posted a video showing how VAR Light will work. The Cymru Premier, with 16 teams, starts on Friday, July 31, with plenty of matches to kick off the season.
The current champions are The New Saints, who have won the league four times in a row since 2021/22. Last season, former Rochdale and Stockport County winger Jordan Williams was the league’s top scorer with 26 goals for The New Saints. They initially qualified for the Champions League first round but dropped to the Conference League after losing to Sabah on aggregate.