VAR changes 129 decisions across 30 rounds of Brazil's championship

Gato Mestre recorded 129 changes to referees' initial decisions in 299 matches of the 2026 Brazilian championship.

Globo's statistics, updated on October 13, give an average of 0.43 changes per match, or roughly one every 2.3 games. The count concerns incidents that actually changed the on-field decision.

Disallowed goals led with 42 cases. Penalty awards and red cards accounted for 27 each. Eleven penalties were cancelled, eleven goals awarded and seven red cards rescinded. Three changes corrected player identification and one awarded a free kick.

The season's highest single-match total came in round three's 2:2 draw between Mirassol and Cruzeiro. Referee Braulio da Silva Machado revised four decisions after consulting video assistants.

An interruption resulting in a changed decision averaged two minutes and 21 seconds. The longest, nine minutes and 56 seconds, occurred during Santos's 2:2 draw with Flamengo in round 29, in an incident involving a penalty and Jorginho's dismissal.

Sport-Express separately reported Russian figures: 41 interventions and 40 changed decisions in 80 matches of the 2026/27 season. Those figures distinguish a consultation from its outcome.