VAR Scheme a step forward amid concerns

Already a staple in top football leagues in Europe, video assistant referee (VAR) technology will make its debut in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) in the "near future".

Football Association of Singapore (FAS) head of referees department Nazeer Hussain shared this development in a statement on Tuesday, as part of its "long-term objective to have our match officials make consistent and more importantly, correct decisions".

He added that the planning to implement VAR for the SPL was kickstarted late last year.

In a rare move, the statement also addressed a Firdaus Kasman goal for Tampines Rovers that was wrongly ruled out for offside in an SPL match last Sunday against Lion City Sailors, who won 1-0.

Nazeer said he had apologised to Tampines chairman Desmond Ong for the mistake. Following the controversy, netizens had questioned the standard of refereeing.

Nazeer added that while the FAS does not excuse mistakes made, it does not condone personal attacks or doxxing of its referees and urged the fraternity to treat one another with respect.

Ong was appreciative that FAS and Nazeer were "quick to respond to the public outcry".

He added: "Our thoughts go out to the officials currently in the eye of the storm. We never doubted their integrity and we hope they can bounce back and continue to contribute to our game."

While he was in favour of VAR, he also had some concerns.

He said: "Referees do a thankless job and, moving with the times, technology will help them reduce errors.

"But, if the current broadcast camerawork is anything to go by, there is plenty of room for improvement to get it to a level suitable for VAR.

"Then there's the cost of such an exercise. Fifa has been promoting the use of VAR, so if there is some form of grant or financial assistance the FAS can apply for, that would be great."

VAR has been introduced in football since 2016, with the system written into the laws of the game in 2018.

According to Fifa, the minimum requirement for VAR is four cameras, although it approved a more affordable VAR Light version to have one to three cameras.

In England, the cost of using VAR per match is reported to be £9,251 (S$16,500) excluding tax.

VAR is not perfect as it still relies on a team of officials in a control room to alert the referee to situations. But it has grown to be accepted as a part of the game to review clear errors relating to goals, red cards, penalties and mistaken identity during the match and offers the opportunity for decisions to be overturned.

As such, it would eliminate controversies such as when the Stags took a throw-in that was awarded to Balestier and went on to make it 2-0 in their 2-2 draw on Feb 26.

The Tigers also could have benefited from reviews of separate penalty and red-card incidents against Tanjong Pagar in their 5-3 loss last Saturday.

Balestier captain Ho Wai Loon said: "VAR would be a step forward as it has been proven in most countries where it is used.

"It should help reduce such disputes and refereeing errors that could make a difference in the final result, end-of-season league positions, or whether a team make it to the next round of a cup competition.

"But having VAR also means that referees have to be trained for it, as they are the ones who have to alert the main referee for any reviews."

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More can be done to lift officiating standards in SPL: Ex-Fifa referee

While many in the football fraternity are in favour of implementing the video assistant referee (VAR) technology in the Singapore Premier League (SPL), more can be done in the interim to raise the standard of refereeing, said a Singaporean former Fifa referee with 20 years of experience.

The official, who declined to be named, offered some suggestions for the SPL.

VAR involves a separate team of officials in an operations room to monitor proceedings, which increases the manpower required.

There are 33 referees listed on the Football Association of Singapore's (FAS) website, with 12 Fifa-level referees - a dip from 15 in 2017. As they are part-timers, not all of them are readily available and only one is VAR-trained.

He said: "If there are only just enough referees to go around, even if they don't perform, they will still get games to officiate. But if there is more competition, it will be the ones who perform who will get more games."

With the Asian Football Confederation Champions League paying an allowance of around US$300 (S$408) per match, he felt the present SPL rate of about $200 should be increased.

"Some may say it is already a lot, but people don't see the hard work behind it. We do this out of passion, and even if we are not professional referees, our mindset has to be. Most of us have day jobs and we have to run late at night or early in the morning to keep in shape, and this takes time and effort."

The FAS could also look at widening its database to provide a more in-depth assessment of a referee's performance.

He said: "As far as I know, the data available now is quite basic. It would help to track things like distance covered and number of sprints made. Such information will allow the referees department and referees themselves to understand more about their performance... and hopefully motivate them to improve."

Referees have to make split-second decisions, and focus and communication are key. "When there is an incident like the disallowed Tampines goal, the assistant must quickly assess if the player was interfering with play... if there is any doubt, the referees should consult one another, which I feel was lacking."