Fifa finally approves video assistant referees for 2018 Russia World Cup

• ‘We are going to have first World Cup with VAR,’ Fifa president says
• Fifa to train 36 referees, plus assistants, for World Cup duty

Fifa has finally – and fully – approved video review to help referees at the Russia World Cup. The last step towards giving match officials video assistance in Russia was agreed to on Friday by Fifa’s ruling council. ‘We are going to have our first World Cup with VAR,” the Fifa president Gianni Infantino said. “It has been approved and we are extremely happy with that decision.”

It comes two weeks after Fifa’s rule-making panel voted to write video assistant referees into the laws. That move still left competition organisers with the option to use video review in their games, and Fifa’s ruling committee had to sign off on the World Cup decision.

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