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VAR to be used at 2018 World Cup

CHRISTOF STACHE / AFP / Getty

Video assistant referees (VAR) will make its World Cup debut in Russia after the FIFA Council approved its use during meetings Friday in Bogota, Colombia, according to the Associated Press' Rob Harris.

Friday's decision comes weeks after the International Football Association Board voted unanimously to unveil VAR on permanent terms in a "landmark" ruling that's expected to be implemented throughout the football world.

"We need to live with the times," FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Friday, courtesy of BBC Sport.

"We wanted to give the referees tools so that they can make better decisions, and in the World Cup some very important decisions are made," he added. "It's not possible that in 2018 everyone in their living room knows a few seconds after the play whether a referee has made a mistake and the referee doesn't."

Already used in several top-flight leagues including the German Bundesliga, Serie A, and MLS, the technology allows match officials to review goals, penalty decisions, red cards, and cases of mistaken identities.

VAR's usage has been met with mixed reviews this season, and with its introduction still in the infantile stages, critics are pointing at match officials and their lack of experience using it as a principle reason not to include it in major competitions.

The 2018 World Cup kicks off June 14 when host Russia welcomes Saudi Arabia to the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

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