VAR on pause

CONCACAF EXECUTIVE Howard McIntosh believes countries without the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology will have to get up to speed for the next World Cup qualification, or they may be forced to surrender some advantages.

Concacaf remains the only confederation not utilising VAR in Qatar 2022 World Cup qualification. The explanation given is that only the USA and Mexico have the system implemented and the regional body thought it would be fairer not to have it in the tournament altogether.

McIntosh insists his position is not an official Concacaf perspective, but offered that given the direction of the sport, he does not see the next Concacaf World Cup qualifying cycle being played without VAR.

“All the countries in Concacaf are not set up for VAR. The USA and Mexico are. Jamaica, Honduras, El Salvador and Panama are not. “So a decision was made at the beginning of the round and the fairest decision was not to have VAR in Concacaf,” McIntosh.

He said going forward, regional venues to be used in World Cup qualifiers will require certain criteria to qualify for Concacaf competitions.

“If you do not meet these requirements they are going to take some decisions. So, for example, if Jamaica does not have it (VAR) they might have to play their games in Florida or wherever. But I assume that for the 2026 qualification it is going to be a requirement. So who is not on board is going to lose some advantage,” he stated.

He acknowledged that the system is a very costly venture.

“VAR is more likely going to be introduced in Concacaf (club and other) competitions, so our Premier League need to be looking at the possibility,” McIntosh urged.

“To play international games you have to be equipped in a particular way and VAR is becoming standard, so you are going to lose some of your opportunities not having VAR. So in our own interests, if we do not do it we will miss some opportunities, like home field advantage,” he conceded.

“VAR is not cheap, but between FIFA and Concacaf I’m sure they’ll be willing to assist. But at the end of the day, it is going to be the country and the venue responsibility to have it,” said McIntosh.

“The game is changing fast, technology is changing fast and you have to keep up with it in order to be serious about participating. It needs to be on the agenda, along with the other things that make us competitive and internationally compliant,” he added.

Former FIFA referee and now FIFA instructor, Peter Predergast, believes there is need in ‘crucial situations’.

Also, he thinks some referees have become complacent and reliant on VAR and are putting less focus on getting decisions right themselves.

“There is a need in crucial situations, where the referee has made a genuine error, that it is helpful, just like how goal-line technology helped,” insists Prendergast. “But the challenge we have is that VAR allows a lot of referees to get complacent because they know there is VAR.

“So there is work to be done. VAR is new to our region, but we still want referees to do more to get things correct,” he said.

He believes member associations have acknowledge the need to have this piece of technology but, like McIntosh, says its implementation is a matter of affordability.

“Concacaf realises the importance and will be using VAR in upcoming competitions. But the preparedness of the region’s members is not good. Only two countries have it. But it is not that they (other members) are not interested or that they don’t want to get up to speed,” he explained.

“It is the fact that it is not widely used by members because of the cost. Only with the resources can you do it. The economics and the ability to implement it in a region where football is not as supported is not easy,” Prendergast said.

Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) general secretary, Dalton Wint, said VAR is now globally accepted and the JFF supports the implementation of the technology across the confed, only that it is too expensive to afford at this time.

“It was used in the Gold Cup, but we do not have it in the World Cup (qualifiers) and it is something we should look at. If the technology can help us then we definitely need support for the implementation of the technology throughout,” Wint said.

“It is an expensive venture, but it is needed,” he commented. “I hope that soon we will be able to have it in all the countries and all our major tournaments will have VAR.”

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com