Video technology 'a safety net' for A-League referees

Michael Huguenin

Video technology 'a safety net' for A-League referees image

A-League referees won't change the way they officiate games when the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system is introduced this weekend.

Australia's premier competition will become the first top-tier domestic football league in the world to implement VARs on Friday night when Melbourne City host Adelaide United at AAMI Park.

FIFA has been trialling VARs around the world since the International Football Advisory Board - the body that determines football's laws of the game - approved testing of the system in March 2016.

VARs can provide assistance on "match-changing incidents" in four distinct categories: goals, penalties, direct red cards and cases of mistaken identity.

While VARs have been used at the 2016 Club World Cup plus various other friendlies and one-off matches around the world, this weekend will be the first time it has been utilised across an entire league.

Jets coach wants VARs 'sooner rather than later'

The A-League will use VARs for the remaining two rounds of the 2016-17 regular season plus the three weeks of finals.

Football Federation Australia's director of referees Ben Wilson insisted on Tuesday, however, that the use of video technology will not change how match officials go about their job in the first instance.

America v Real Madrid Club World Cup 15122016

"They will not be changing the way they referee the game," he told reporters.

VARs pass latest test but still need work

"They're still responsible for making the decision. They will make their decision and they will referee the game as if there is no VAR there.

"In the occasional event or the rare event that there is an error then there is that safety net of the VAR to correct that."

While the VAR system doesn't employ the exact equipment used by the Premier League and other competitions for goal-line technology, the Head of the A-League Greg O'Rourke claimed the new method might overtake such individual schemes.

"The EPL [Premier League] have their goal-line technology as you know but then they don't have the broader technology that we're bringing in," O'Rourke said.

Modric questions VAR system

"We might find that actually goal-line technology is actually superseded by the fact that we have the VAR because it will pick up all the goal/no goal decisions."

 

Michael Huguenin