How far are our leagues from introducing VAR?

Could take up to 18 months to implement it, says Trevor Kettle federation's chief refereeing officer

- Dhiman Sarkar

It has been almost 10 months since All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partners Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) were briefed about Video Assistant Referee (VAR), said Trevor Kettle, the federation's chief refereeing officer (CRO). But as the ISL 11 rolls on, clubs complaining to the All India Football Federation on contentious refereeing decisions also continue.

Kettle said the accuracy is around 82% in ISL and I-League this term. "It varied between 83-84 and at the end of season was around 85% (in ISL in 2023-24)."

So, when will VAR come to Indian leagues? In January last year, AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey had 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 (Additional Video Review System) can be a great option for a country like India."