Spanish FA refereeing director proposes using ex-players as VAR officials
Velasco Carballo believes that because of their first-hand experience of play, ex-professionals could be used to advise VAR referees on decision-making.
Carlos Velasco Carballo, president of the Technical Committee of Referees of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), has proposed using ex-footballers as assistants to VAR referees.
Velasco Carballo believes that because of their first-hand experience of play, ex-professionals could be used to advise the VAR referees on intentionality and when they should interfere with the game and communicate with the referee.
As the highest refereeing authority in Spain, Velasco Carballo has raised the idea to see if there could be consensus between the governing bodies in Spanish football.
With the two most recent controversial VAR-related decisions involving Barcelona striker Luis Suarez’s apparent illegal challenge on Leganés keeper Iván Cuéllar and Real Sociedad keeper Gerónimo Rulli’s take down of Real Madrid's Vinicius, alarm bells have been risen about the legitimacy of the VAR system in LaLiga, which adopted the system for the first time this season.
Velasco Carballo is one of the world’s top specialists in VAR and, as an ardent advocate for the system, is eager to find possible solutions to avoid the VAR-related controversies that are occurring in LaLiga on an almost weekly basis.