Date: 21st December 2017 at 8:18pm
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Video Assistant Referee technology comes into the English game for the first time in the third round of the FA Cup this season.

The Football Assocation had originally planned to trial VAR from the 2018 season, but with tests becoming common place abroad and in international games, the decision was taken to fasttrack that decision and bring it into the English game for the latter 2017/18 FA Cup stages.

Coming into play for the third round as part of the International Football Association Board’s (IFAB) recommendations for the global development of the technology, the tie between Brighton and Crystal Palace on Monday January 8 will be the first game to use the system.

It was previously used at Wembley Stadium in November in England’s games against Germany and Brazil, but it wasn’t called upon to be executed in play.

Coming into the FA Cup now fans should get an opportunity or two to see VAR in action, but at this stage it will be trialled at a select number of fixtures as opposed to across the board.

Director of Professional Game Relations at the FA, Andy Ambler, told theFA.com.

‘The FA has always been open to trialling new innovations and was heavily involved in the advancement of goal-line technology before it was introduced. The trialling of the VAR system in this season`s Emirates FA Cup from the third round is a continuation of that and further demonstrates that whilst being the most famous and historic domestic cup competition in the world it is also modern, progressive and innovative.’

Trials will also take place in the League Cup semi finals to be held in January.

The system will be available to the match day referee in games for clear and obvious errors, or serious missed incidents, relating to specific incidents in three ‘game changing’ situations – goals, penalty/no penalty decisions and straight red cards, plus mistaken identity for red or yellow cards.’

The VAR system will automatically check every such incident and if it’s determined that a clear or obvious error has occurred, the referee will be informed whereby he can then confirm or change the original decision based on the information supplied, or take the opportunity to review the replay of the incident from the side of the pitch.

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