The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system in football was first introduced by FIFA in the 2018/19 season.
Taking into account the new FIFA regulations and modern technologies, in 2018 the company “ENGINEER-SERVICE” designed the first mobile VAR video station in Ukraine, which was put into operation in the summer of 2019. As of today, the company has built six mobile Video Assistant Referee (VAR) stations.
The first stations, built for the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF), were developed in full compliance with all FIFA standards and regulations. They utilized certified EVS replay servers, FIFA-certified offside line software, Vokkero-based certified referee communication equipment, and an optical signal transmission system allowing real-time monitoring.
Subsequent stations were commissioned directly by football clubs, namely FC Polissya and FC Shakhtar. These were designed not only to meet the requirements of the “Laws of the Game” but also to comply with IFAB regulations. All three of these stations were built under tight deadlines between late 2023 and early 2024, amid the challenging conditions resulting from the ongoing full-scale invasion.
ENGINEER-SERVICE was responsible not only for the design, construction, and commissioning of the VAR stations, but also for training the personnel in accordance with the FIFA and IFAB regulations, specifically under the Implementation Assistance and Approval Programme (IAAP). To this day, the company continues to provide full technical support for both the hardware and software of the mobile VAR stations.
Currently, all six units are used to support matches of the Ukrainian Premier League (UPL), the Ukrainian First League Championship, the Ukrainian Cup, and qualifying matches for the FIFA World Cup involving both the Ukrainian national team and European teams abroad.