KUALA LUMPUR – The video assistant referee (VAR) will not be used in matches in the country any time soon.
This comes after Malaysian Football League (MFL) chief executive officer Stuart Ramalingam said that most stadiums in the country do not have the infrastructure to implement the technology.
The VAR, however, was used for the first time in Malaysia during the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup final between Kuala Lumpur City FC and Omani club Al-Seeb at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium here last Saturday.
“We should not only use VAR in one match. I think it is best to have it implemented in all stadiums during all matches to be fair to everyone.
“In fact, there are many other factors that we also need to consider, including the need to train referees to use the technology, and implementing it involves a very high cost.
“Our stadium infrastructures are also not equipped to implement the technology. Untill now, we still have issues with the internet connection every time we host a match.
“If we really want it, we need to carry out the technology perfectly and it requires time to do so.”
Other than VAR, he said MFL is collaborating with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to find alternatives to improving the refereeing standards among local leagues.
Stuart was met at a press conference after announcing their partnership with beverage company Origina as the new sponsor of the 2022 Malaysia Cup and the 2023 M-League, today.
The Vibes recently reported that the introduction of VAR in the M-League comes with a significant price tag, costing around RM25 million per season. – The Vibes, October 25, 2022
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