Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder revealed this week that Premier League official Craig Pawson had visited the Blades squad to explain how the use of VAR has changed since they were in the top flight last season.
And Sunderland chiefs also made sure the players are comfortable with the use of the technology by organising a refereeing visit to the Academy of Light.
“We had a referee speak to the players at the end of last week,” said boss Regis Le Bris.
“The main thing was the offsides, which is a bit different. Sometimes you can be offside and the referee makes a mistake, it can make the difference. Also the way you can defend set pieces in the box is slightly different.”
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Earlier this week, Wilder said: “I’ve not gone into the details regarding yellows and reds with the players, but the landscape has changed with the VAR being involved at the weekend.
“We had Craig Pawson in the club on Monday to go through certain situations and scenarios as well, so I was thankful for that option that we had.
“We talked to him, because the game at that level and refereeing at Premier League level is a different one to Championship football. We have to play the game cleanly, we have to be disciplined in our approach but we also have to be competitive.”
All three EFL play-off finals this weekend will include the use of VAR, semi-automated offside technology and in-stadia announcements.
Chris Kavanagh will be in charge of Saturday’s game, with Lee Betts and Neil Davies on the line. Peter Bankes will be fourth official and John Brooks will be VAR.
Le Bris has tried to keep this week as normal as possible in the build-up to Saturday’s final and believes his players are calm and ready.
He said: “Sheffield United are strong and experienced, and we know we won’t have an easy game. It doesn’t exist in this scenario.
“The best way to manage the game is to stay focused. We have to be ready for everything in the game and be the best version of Sunderland.”
