Will VAR technology raise Singapore’s football game?

SINGAPORE: Singapore hopes having the video assistant referee (VAR) system will boost the country's chances of hosting major football tournaments, and open the doors for more local referees to officiate on the global stage.   VAR technology will be introduced to the Singapore Premier League (SPL) for the upcoming season, after the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) recently got the green light to use it in the country's professional football league.    VAR technology is already a staple in top football leagues in Europe and Asia. Singapore will become the 11th Asian country to use VAR in its local professional league.   FAS had passed a final assessment by the world football governing body FIFA after an implementation process that started last February, during which visits by FIFA personnel and regular VAR training for local match officials were conducted.

With VAR serving as extra pairs of eyes on the pitch, local football authorities hope to reduce bad refereeing calls, such as when a goal is wrongly disallowed for offside.    “Teams have put in a lot of money, investment, and time. So the last thing that they should get is a fair and just result. Which is what we are aiming for,” said Mr Nazeer Hussain, director of the referees' department at FAS.    “With the objective of minimum interference and maximum benefit to the game, we hope that implementing VAR in Singapore will elevate our refereeing standards and ensure that most of the critical decisions in the game are made correctly. This will end up in elevating the stature and prestige of the SPL.”

The penalty area, for instance, is where video assistant referees pay most of their attention, and where match-defining moments happen.    However, they can only