KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysia Stadium Corporation (PSM) plans to equip Bukit Jalil National Stadium with fully specced video assistant referee (VAR) technology so that the Harimau Malaya home ground will be world-class.
PSM chief executive officer Mohd Faidz Sanusi said the use of VAR, equipped with a minimum of eight cameras, is deemed suitable for the country's main football venue.
“We plan to install VAR so it (PSM) is ready to host any international or local tournaments. If there is an allocation with sufficient funds, we plan to install VAR at the national stadium.
“We will opt for a system with higher specifications and of world standard. If we want to do something, we should follow the international standard, especially with the assets under PSM,” he said.
He said he is also ready to hold discussions with PSM board members and the Youth and Sports Ministry regarding the cost of using VAR, which is said to be more than RM500,000.
According to him, the national stadium must be the best venue and a benchmark for other stadiums in Malaysia.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had previously confirmed that VAR would be introduced this year in the Malaysia League, with the FA Cup and Malaysia Cup being used as a trial.
Last week, the use of VAR was one of the top agenda items discussed by FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin in his meeting with FIFA Referees Committee chairman Pierluigi Collina at the 73rd FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda.
At the meeting, Collina proposed to Hamidin to use either full VAR (minimum eight cameras) or VAR Light (fewer than eight cameras) for the local football scene. – Bernama, March 21, 2023
