SHAH ALAM: The Malaysian Football League (MFL) will use eight pre-season matches from Monday (April 22) until May 4 to test the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system for this season's Malaysia League (M-League) campaign.
MFL chief executive officer Datuk Stuart Ramalingam (pix) said they hope to identify any problems that crop up during the test so that they will be ready with the solutions when the system is implemented for the 2024/25 season, which will kick off on May 10.
“There are always teething problems in the first year and we will face issues on the ground, but we will embrace them and go with a mindset of finding the best solutions possible for the M-League. We can see from the VAR reviews that this system can take some time while the infrastructure in the states also probably differs.
“(I) hope we can face as many problems as possible (during the tests) so that we are ready and when the problems arise we can solve them,” he told reporters during the VAR simulation session held for stakeholders, like the match commissioners, coaches and team officials at the UiTM Stadium here today.
However, the decision to implement the VAR system this season will depend on the approval by a representative from FIFA after a four-day test that began on Thursday (April 18).
Meanwhile, Stuart said the MFL planned to have a maximum of three matches on each match day as they have four sets of mobile VAR systems.
“Only three matches per match day so that we can make sure there’s one mobile unit free on any particular day. If there is a match in Sabah or Sarawak, one set will be available. Should there be days when the VAR system breaks down, the game will still go on according to laws of the game.
“We have to be prepared for such a situation as it has happened in other countries, even in Japan. We will have to make announcements to make sure teams and fans know that there will be no VAR system for that match,” he said.
Stuart said the MFL hope to own at least six sets of VAR systems in the coming seasons.
Asked about the budget, he said that MFL have so far spent about RM5 million to RM6 million to purchase the four existing VAR systems while the annual operations budget is estimated at between RM3.2 million and RM3.4 million.
The 2024/25 Super League season will kick off on May 10 with the Charity Shield match between Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) and Selangor at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, Johor.
