AIFF President looks to implement Additional Video Review System

All India Football Federation (AIFF) has written to IFAB to explore the possibility of testing 'Additional Video Review System'.

The AVRS is the existing technical infrastructure to accommodate an 'on-demand' video review request from the referees through a multi-angle, multi-camera broadcast feed.

AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said, “Our prime objective here is to reduce the margin of error by empowering match officials with the technology to assist in their decision-making. While we will continue to work to implement VAR, I feel that, to begin with, AVRS can be a great option for a country like India. AVRS would help us study the impact of the technology, train our match officials with the new concept, and assess its adaptation by players, coaches, and clubs alike.”

The Indian football is yet to adopt the VAR due to financial and infrastructure constraints.

Only about 30 percent of the 211 football-playing nations—mainly in Europe and South America—currently have VAR subscriptions for either full domestic seasons or selective stages.

The President has suggested the AIFF Referee Department undertake the study to seek FIFA’s suggestions and approval.

The fans in the current season of the Indian Super League has been left frustrated with poor decision making by the referees.

From Kerala Blasters head coach Ivan Vukomanovic walking off against Bengaluru FC last season to coaches expressing their disappointment publicly and fans taking to the street, referring is the poorest in the Indian Super League.

Last week, AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey called for accountability from officials and said," The season has seen increasing concerns over referee decisions with complaints and counter-claims. Clubs have submitted hard evidence in the form of videos to back their claims. Several games have been impacted due to unfortunate ‘plain-sight errors’, and admittedly below the acceptability of standards expected from us.”