UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said Thursday that he often struggles to understand the interpretation of the rules of football since the implementation of VAR.

“Sometimes the supporters can’t understand some interpretations of the rules. I can’t understand it many times,” Ceferin said during a conference in Madrid.

“For example, the handball, nobody understands it. Is it a penalty? Is it not a penalty? Nobody knows. It was intentional, how do you know? You’re not a psychiatrist.”

The head of the governing body of European football also bemoaned the length of time some VAR interventions take on the pitch.

“We try to explain to the referees that the referee on the pitch is the one that decides,” Ceferin said.

“And only if it’s a clear and obvious mistake, you intervene. And even interventions should be fast, not just in Spanish league. I saw it in Premier League, sometimes 10-15 minutes of watching something.”

He also called for a greater harmonisation of the interpretation of the rules across Europe’s different domestic leagues.

“I see that sometimes referees who are refereeing on the European level are refereeing differently than in their own leagues,” the Slovenian said.

“Because they have different referee bosses in the leagues. So I think we should, because it’s one game and it should be the same way.”

Ceferin added that the best way to avoid mistakes was to “strictly try to obey” the International Football Association Board (IFAB) rules.

Published on Apr 24, 2026