The Europa League round-of-32 begins on Thursday, featuring Arsenal, Celtic, Man Utd, Rangers and Wolves
Monday 17 February 2020 15:34, UK
Europa League will use the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system in the upcoming knockout phase of the competition.
The first legs of the last 32 of the competition take place on Thursday February 20.
It was decided in September that VAR would be used after the group stages following a successful appearance in the Champions League.
Some of Europe's top referees have been taking part in a winter course in Mallorca to go through VAR analysis and training.
UEFA's Referees Committee chairman Roberto Rosetti, committee colleagues and referees held intensive discussions about VAR at the UEFA course in Mallorca.
Rosetti said: "We believe that VAR is a crucial project for football and I am very glad that we will now also have VAR in the Europa League, as it will provide vital help for referees to take correct decisions in these important matches.
"We're very happy with the figures that we've seen in the UEFA Champions League group phase and playoffs - in 108 matches in total, 27 decisions have been corrected through the VAR system, which means that a decision has only been overturned every four matches - this shows the quality of the referees' performances.
"In addition, we feel that the time taken to overturn a decision is important. So far this season, the average time for the correction of a decision has been 1 minute 30 seconds - 15 seconds less than last season.
"However, I would emphasise once more that - in compliance with its protocol - VAR is only for clear and obvious mistakes, and not for controversial situations. Football needs good referees above all - match officials with a strong personality on the field of play, who take correct and courageous decisions."
VAR will also be used at the upcoming European Qualifiers play-offs in March, and is already being used in this season's Champions League (since the play-offs).
In addition, it will be used at the Women's Champions League final; Euro 2020 this summer; and next year's Women's Euro 2021.
UEFA have also decided to introduce VAR in the 2022 European Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup, pending FIFA's final approval.
More information on how VAR is applied in UEFA competitions can be found here.
