VAR at AFC Asian Cup 2019

The decisive matches in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 are to be enhanced by the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system after the AFC Referees Committee approved its use from the quarter-finals onward.

Asia already boasts some of the world’s leading referees and now they will be given the additional support of VAR for the tournament quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. The VAR system will therefore be used in seven matches at four venues: Zayed Sports City Stadium and Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain and the Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai. After the AFC Referees Committee met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Dato’ Windsor John, the AFC General Secretary, said: “The decision to include VAR was only made on September 26 and that has meant a tremendous amount of work has been required to ensure that it can play a role at the tournament from the quarter-final stages. We are fortunate in Asia that our referees are among the best in the world of football. Alireza Faghani, from Iran, officiated the third and fourth place match at the FIFA World Cup in Russia 2018 and has also controlled a FIFA Club World Cup final". The inclusion of VAR at the quarter-final stage is in line with CAF, the Confederation of African Football who introduced VAR at the same stage of the African Cup of Nations while CONMEBOL, the South American Confederation, included VAR at the quarter finals of the Copa Libertadores, their Continental club competition.

The AFC Referees Committee has also approved the criteria for the appointment of Women’s officials in the preliminary and group stages of the 2019 AFC Cup season. Prospective candidates must be a candidate for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019, achieve a high-performance grading level and pass the official FIFA international men’s fitness test. The Committee also noted the progress of the AFC Referee Academy, which marked its first anniversary of operations on Wednesday. The first-of-its-kind Academy at the Confederation level saw an 86% pass rate at the introductory level, with 74.5% of the AFC’s Member Associations now represented in the program. Members of the committee also approved the changes to the age criteria for AFC Elite referees, which now requires FIFA registered referees who are 45 and above to be in the AFC Elite Category 1 – the highest classification – in order to remain in the panel, as part of efforts to provide more opportunities for younger referees.

Source: AFC