UEFA Confirms VAR Will Be Used in the Champions League from 2019-20

UEFA has confirmed that the video assistant referee (VAR) system will be used in next season's UEFA Champions League. 

In addition, European football's governing body also said the setup will be in place at the UEFA European Championship in 2020, as well as other competitions affiliated to it:

The move comes after FIFA used VAR at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, with the review system deemed a success in the main.

The introduction of VAR into international competitions followed a precedent set by some elite European leagues. The Bundesliga and Serie A have both used VAR in the last two campaigns, while La Liga has tapped into the technology in 2018-19.

The League Cup and FA Cup have had access to VAR at top-flight stadiums, although it's yet to be used in the Premier League.

As reported by BBC Sport's Simon Stone, English football's top flight did have a trial run of VAR in 3 p.m. BST kick-offs on September 15. In April, Premier League clubs voted against using VAR for the 2018-19 campaign.

Stone thinks UEFA's decision makes VAR in the Premier League a more realistic proposition than ever:

UEFA appears poised to press on with the implementation of the technology and the organisation's President Aleksander Ceferin said he believes it can be a success, per the UEFA Twitter account.

"We're confident that introducing VAR in August 2019 will give us enough time to put in place a robust system and to train match officials to ensure an efficient, successful implementation of VAR in the Champions League, the world’s flagship club competition," he said.

According to Rob Harris of the Associated Press, VAR will also be in place for some Asian Cup matches.

The history of the Champions League may look a little different had video technology been available down the years:

Despite some teething problems in league matches, overall VAR was used effectively at the World Cup, although a few decisions from the officials did still split opinion. 

As a new system it wouldn't be surprising if more problems emerged over the course of the 2018-19 campaign. By the end of the season and ahead of its introduction into the Champions League, a competition that will place major scrutiny on the VAR process, UEFA will hope some of those issues have been ironed out.