The absence of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology at the preliminary stage of the ongoing 15th SAFF Football Tournament has sparked widespread disappointment among participating teams, with several questioning the fairness of officiating in this prestigious regional competition.
Several crucial decisions during the matches already played could potentially have gone in favour of the respective teams that had either lost or drawn their matches, had VAR technology been available. Sri Lanka was among the sides believed to have suffered as a result, with a number of contentious decisions going against them during their opening match against Bhutan.
Reliable sources indicate that financial constraints may have been the reason behind the decision not to introduce VAR, leaving participating nations questioning why such an important facility was overlooked at a major regional tournament.
Football circles have also expressed concern over the omission, pointing out that VAR has become an essential feature of modern football, helping officials minimise human errors and ensure greater fairness and credibility in the game.
Sri Lanka Head Coach Abdullah Al Mutairi, whose side was also affected by the absence of the technology, voiced his disappointment over the situation.
‘It is very unfair to conduct a tournament of this nature without VAR, particularly at a regional competition of this standard. The whole world is now using this technology, with increasingly advanced systems, making football fairer and more entertaining,’ Al Mutairi said.
‘I feel we missed at least one penalty among several important decisions. If the organisers were unable to provide VAR from the preliminary stage, they should perhaps not have conducted the tournament and instead allowed the teams to play international friendlies. Nevertheless, we also missed several scoring opportunities, and the much-needed luck was not on our side,’ he added.
The controversy has raised serious questions over the tournament’s technical arrangements, with participating teams believing that the introduction of VAR would have helped protect the integrity of the competition and reduce the impact of costly refereeing errors.