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The VAR (Video Assistant Referee), a football’s video reference and decision review system, will be making its debut on India soil from the quarterfinals stage of the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
The Continental competition will be played at three venues in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Pune and will see the VAR making its tournament debut from January 30 onwards.
The technology will be used till the final on February 6 across the two venues for the knockout stages — DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai and the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune.
Preparations for installation and set-up of the technology have already begun in the respective venues. Apart from the stadiums on match-days, the referees’ training sites will be equipped with a similar VAR set-up and simulators will also be made available to the referees in their hotel.
The AFC is working towards ensuring the highest standards of refereeing at the tournament with multiple technical tests being performed at the stadiums and training sites before the VAR is officially introduced in the country.
At the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, six dedicated video match officials will have access to seven different live camera feeds to inspect every action on the field.
There are four categories of decisions that VAR can review – Goal/no goal, Penalty/no penalty, Direct red card, and Mistaken identity in awarding a red or yellow card. The VAR match official and the on-field referee will work in tandem to make the aforementioned category of decisions wherein either the VAR or the on-field referee can initiate a review. Upon review, the VAR can recommend the on-field referee to overturn their decision in case a clear and obvious error has been spotted.
Alternatively, the on-field referee may choose to conduct an On-Field Review (OFR) by halting the game and reviewing footage from the screen which will be installed in the Referee Review Area behind the fourth official’s bench, just outside the touchline of the playing pitch. At all times, the on-field referee can ignore the advice from the VAR.
So finally VAR will make its debut on Indian soil!
