2017-18 Serie A TIM: percentage of refereeing errors falls from 5.78% to 0.89% thanks to VAR

Of the 397 matches played with the use of the video assistant referee (380 Serie A TIM matches and 17 TIM Cup/Coppa Italia matches), 2,023 calls to the VAR (5.1 per game) were made, with 117 corrected decisions (one every 3.29 games) and the percentage of refereeing errors fell from 5.78% to 0.89%. These are the key figures from the "VAR Project Report" drawn up at the end of the 2017-18 Serie A TIM season, the first season that has been contested with the use of VAR technology in Italy, according to the Lega Serie A on 08/06/2018.

"These results are all the more significant as the initial strategic plan did not provide for an introduction of the video assistant referee to the Serie A's refereeing process until 2018-19, with use in 2017-18 starting from the Round of 16 of the TIM Cup," said the Italian league.

The video assistant referee is part of the changes in the laws of the game approved by the IFAB on 03/03/2018 and which will be applied at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, as decided by the FIFA Council on 16/03/2018.

"Italy has become a point of reference for all…