The AIFF has reached out to IFAB, exploring the possibility of India participating in the trial of the ‘Additional Video Review System’ (AVRS). The President recommends extending the existing technical infrastructure to enable an ‘on-demand’ video review request from referees through a multi-angle, multi-camera broadcast feed.
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.”
At present, the widespread adoption of VAR faces limitations due to financial and infrastructure requirements outlined in FIFA’s Implementation Assistance and Approval Programme (IAAP). Only approximately 30 percent of the 211 football-playing nations, primarily in Europe and South America, currently have VAR subscriptions for either full domestic seasons or selective stages. The President suggests that the AIFF Referee Department conduct a study to seek FIFA’s suggestions and approval.
Notably, VAR made its domestic tournament debut in March of this year during the Santosh Trophy third-place classification match between Services and Punjab at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The VAR technology has been used on Indian soil on two previous occasions: during the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in January-February 2022 from the quarterfinal stage and the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in October last year.
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