FIFA President Gianni Infantino "signaled that he is in favor" of introducing video assistant referees at next year's World Cup following its success at the Confederations Cup, "although he conceded the system needs to be improved," according to REUTERS. Infantino: "Nothing is standing in the way of using VAR (at the World Cup), as far as I'm concerned. So far it has been successful. We are learning, we are improving, we are continuing the tests." FIFA said that the system corrected six "game-changing decisions" during the Confederations Cup. Infantino: "Without the VARs, we would have had a different tournament. And a tournament which would have been a little less fair" (REUTERS, 7/1). GOAL reported Pierluigi Collina, the former Italian official who is head of the FIFA referees' committee, said that VAR "taking pressure off the man in the middle was a major plus." Collina: "One of the referees appointed to the Confederations Cup texted me after one of the matches and he said he was enjoying the matches because he felt less pressure. This is what the referee thinks, going to the pitch knowing that if they do not have enough information to make the correct decision or the decision does not rely on their skill or quality, but line of vision -- when we simply cannot blame the referee -- it is okay" (GOAL, 7/1).
SOCHI IN DEMAND: ESPN.com's Mark Ogden reported 14 potential World Cup qualifiers "have expressed to FIFA their desire to be based in Sochi during Russia 2018" -- despite only two bases being available in the Black Sea resort city, sources said. Sochi hosted four games during the Confederations Cup. Germany played three games in the city during the tournament, with coach Joachim Löw "admitting to being impressed by the facilities and climate in Sochi and Adler," the resort where Fisht Stadium sits on the seafront. Both FIFA and the 2018 Local Organizing Committee "are determined to ensure a geographical spread of team bases in order for Russia as a whole to embrace the tournament" (ESPN.com, 6/30).
