The VAR (Video Assistant Referee) system became firmly established in football after the 2018 World Cup in Russia. However, UEFA did not introduce it immediately at all levels of European club competitions — the process took several years and proceeded gradually, "top to bottom": first the finals of the most important tournaments, then the group stages, and finally the successive qualifying rounds. Below is the full timeline along with the current status for the 2026/27 season.
What is VAR?
Video Assistant Referee is a technology system that supports football referees in making key decisions during a match. It works by having an additional team of officials monitor the game from a separate room, with access to multiple camera angles and slow-motion replays. VAR's role is not to replace the main referee, but to support them in situations where a "clear and obvious error" or a "serious missed incident" may have occurred on the pitch.
The system only intervenes in a few specific categories of incidents: goals (checking, for example, for offside or a foul in the build-up), penalty decisions (whether a penalty was correctly awarded or not awarded), direct red cards, and cases of mistaken identity when a player is cautioned or sent off. When VAR flags a possible error to the main referee, they can either make a decision based on the information relayed by the video assistant, or go to the pitch-side monitor and review the replay themselves before making a final call. The last word always belongs to the referee in charge of the match on the pitch.
The beginnings: 2018/19 season
Although UEFA had originally planned to introduce VAR in the Champions League starting from the 2019/20 season, the UEFA Executive Committee decided to speed up the process. The system debuted in the Champions League knockout stage from the round of 16, played in February and March 2019. That same year, VAR was also used in the Europa League final, the Nations League finals tournament, and the UEFA Super Cup match.
At this point, VAR did not yet apply to either the qualifying rounds or the group stage of any European competition.
2019/20 season: A first step toward the qualifiers
The scope of VAR usage in the Champions League was extended to the qualifiers and group stage, but in practice this only applied to the final qualifying round (the play-offs) — earlier rounds were still played without video technology support.
2019/20–2022/23: VAR from the 3rd qualifying round
For several consecutive seasons, VAR in Champions League qualifying only applied from the 3rd qualifying round onward. This drew criticism from the football community — clubs starting their campaign in the 1st round (often teams from smaller federations) had no access to the technology, even though qualification for the lucrative group stages was at stake. A widely discussed example was the Lech Poznań – Qarabağ Agdam match in the 2022/23 Champions League qualifiers, played without VAR.
The Europa League and the newly created (2021) Conference League fared even more modestly with VAR:
- Conference League (inaugural 2021/22 season) — VAR was used only in the semi-finals and final.
- Conference League (2022/23) — VAR was introduced before the knockout stage (i.e., from the round of 16 after the group stage) and used through to the final.
2023/24 season: A major leap forward
This was a turning point in the history of video review in European competitions. UEFA announced that a combined total of 239 additional matches would be played with VAR across the three club competitions. The changes were as follows:
- Champions League — for the first time in history, VAR was introduced in all qualifying rounds, starting from the 1st qualifying round. This was an increase of 63 matches compared to the previous season.
- Europa League — VAR appeared in qualifying for the first time, from the 3rd qualifying round (a 26% increase, or 36 matches).
- Conference League — VAR was introduced from the play-off round (the final qualifying round), also covering the entire group and knockout stages. This was a massive 311% increase (140 additional matches).
2024/25 season: further expansion
The system's development continued:
- Champions League — VAR continued to apply at all stages of the competition.
- Europa League — VAR was introduced from the 1st qualifying round, i.e., from the very start of qualifying.
- Conference League — UEFA signaled that it was considering (as part of a feasibility review, given the very high number of matches at this level) introducing VAR even before the play-off round, but the threshold remained unchanged from the 2023/24 season.
Current status: 2026/27 season
As of today (September 2026), the structure of VAR usage across UEFA's three European club competitions is as follows:
Champions League — VAR applies at all rounds, from the 1st qualifying round through the league phase to the final.
Europa League — VAR applies from the 1st qualifying round, the same as in the Champions League.
Conference League — this remains the only competition where VAR still does not cover the full qualifying process. The system is used only from the play-off round, i.e., the last (fourth) qualifying round in sequence (1st qualifying round → 2nd round → 3rd round → play-off). The earlier three qualifying rounds are still played without VAR. This situation has remained unchanged since the 2023/24 season — despite UEFA's earlier signals about a possible expansion, no change to the threshold for introducing the technology in this competition has occurred to date.
Summary table
| Season | Champions League | Europa League | Conference League |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018/19 | None in qualifying; VAR from round of 16 | None | — (did not yet exist) |
| 2019/20 | VAR from the final qualifying round | None | — |
| 2020/21 – 2022/23 | VAR from the 3rd qualifying round | None in qualifying (VAR only in finals) | 2021/22: VAR only in semi-final and final 2022/23: VAR from the knockout stage (after groups) |
| 2023/24 | VAR from the 1st qualifying round (first time in history) | VAR from the 3rd qualifying round | VAR from the play-off round (final qualifying round) |
| 2024/25 | VAR from the 1st qualifying round | VAR from the 1st qualifying round | VAR still from the play-off round (earlier introduction considered, but no change made) |
| 2025/26 | VAR from the 1st qualifying round | VAR from the 1st qualifying round | VAR from the play-off round |
| 2026/27 | VAR from the 1st qualifying round | VAR from the 1st qualifying round | VAR only from the play-off round (4th qualifying round) |
Conclusion
The rollout of VAR across European competitions was a gradual process spanning nearly six years — from its first use in the Champions League knockout stage in 2019 to full coverage of qualifying rounds in UEFA's two most prominent club competitions. The Champions League and Europa League have already reached the technology's maximum scope — VAR accompanies them from the season's very first whistle. The Conference League, as the third and youngest tier of European competition, remains — due to having by far the largest number of teams and matches in the earliest rounds — the only competition where part of the qualifying process still takes place without video review support.