V-League 2019: Using VAR to "save" referees.

"We have been pursuing this idea since the end of last year when the 2018 V-League season concluded. VAR is a trend in world and regional football, and this technology will help referees have an easier time performing their duties," revealed VPF President Tran Anh Tu; adding that with thorough preparation, there is a 99% chance that VAR will be implemented starting from the 2019 V-League season.

For clean football

According to the head of VPF, if VAR technology is implemented, it will minimize referee errors, improve the quality of refereeing in the eyes of fans, and help to improve the image of V-League in particular and Vietnamese football in general.

He also stated: "According to the plan, on January 8th, the Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF) will conduct the draw and schedule the matches." The 2019 season is expected to begin with the National Super Cup match between Hanoi FC - the reigning V-League champion - and Binh Duong FC - the reigning National Cup champion, on February 16th, and the first round of the V-League will kick off at the end of February.

At the 2018 World Cup, each match will have four referees overseeing VAR. Photo: FIFA

Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology was approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in 2016 and was first tested in August 2016 in a Major League Soccer match. The 2018 World Cup was the first major tournament to use VAR technology to assist referees.

The application of VAR technology aims to make matches fairer and handle controversial situations more accurately. However, in reality, VAR is becoming a controversial technology, especially regarding when referees apply it. There are many situations where referees still trust their own decisions rather than using VAR, resulting in final decisions that are not entirely accurate.

At the 2018 World Cup, each match had four referees supervising VAR. Although it's known that the VPF will receive technological support from FIFA and AFC, and the V-League organizers will soon train VAR referees, ready to implement it in the 2019 season, it remains to be seen if they will have enough personnel in time. In Southeast Asia, Thailand was the first country to adopt VAR, with the system appearing from round 3 of the 2018 Thai-League.

Humans are irreplaceable.

At the 2018 World Cup, VAR technology also caused a lot of controversy as referees still made inaccurate decisions, even decisions that frustrated the teams. For example, in the match between Brazil and Costa Rica in the second round of Group E, the referee initially awarded Brazil a penalty but later changed his decision after consulting VAR.

A FIFA referee stated: "VAR is necessary, but what's most important is the skill, composure, and teamwork of the referees." (Photo: FIFA)

A FIFA referee stated: "VAR is necessary, but what's important is the skill, composure, and coordination of the referees." He added that although Vietnamese referees have long been equipped with high-quality walkie-talkies, in the 2018 V-League match between Binh Duong and Quang Ninh on September 14, 2018, referee Tran Van Lap (along with three assistants) completely forgot to issue a red card after Ho Tan Tai received two yellow cards, and even VAR couldn't do anything about it.

Machines cannot replace referees; they only help to make things clearer and more transparent.

Nevertheless, the efforts of VPF, led by Chairman Tú, must be acknowledged in their endeavors to reduce the number of whistles that cause frustration for players, coaching staff, and fans on Vietnamese football pitches.

This is an opportunity for the 8th term of the Refereeing Committee to rectify the behavior of referees, improve the skill and quality of their officiating, an area considered the weakest after 18 years of professional football.