How do clubs handle VAR?

Bad habits were formed before VAR came along.

Following the general trend in world football, VAR has become an indispensable part of matches. In continental tournaments, VAR is being widely implemented. The Vietnamese national team at various levels has played many matches under VAR supervision and has suffered setbacks from this technology on numerous occasions. This largely stems from the long-standing playing habits of many players in domestic leagues, especially the V-League, where VAR has not yet been able to cover all matches.

Ngan Van Dai (29, Quang Nam Club) committed a malicious foul against Duc Chien (The Cong Viettel Club), so after reviewing VAR, the referee issued a red card.

Football expert Doan Minh Xuong stated: "The pace of football matches is becoming increasingly faster, more intense, and more powerful. Therefore, to ensure accurate and objective football officiating, FIFA decided to introduce VAR to assist referees. In addition, the use of VAR also educates players about fair play. The goal is to win, but still to play beautifully."

The above statement is particularly relevant to Vietnamese football. Underhanded tactics, blatant fouls, and even attempts to injure opponents still occur, even in leagues with VAR like the V-League. "Due to objective circumstances, Vietnamese football has only recently adopted VAR, but it's still incomplete. In terms of officiating, referees haven't been truly strict with players' violent fouls. Therefore, Vietnamese players have long developed bad habits, often using underhanded tactics, taking advantage of moments when the referee isn't paying attention or the referee's viewing angle isn't good to strike opponents in various ways (elbows, hands, tripping, kicking...). As a result, Vietnamese national teams are easily disadvantaged when competing internationally, as these unsportsmanlike actions cannot escape the notice of VAR," Mr. Xương stated.

CLUBS WANT TO GIVE PLAYERS MORE TIME

Although VAR was introduced in the V-League at the end of the 2023 season, it seems that teams have not yet truly focused on educating their players about this referee-assisted technology. Before the season started, the V-League organizers sent supervisors and referees to the teams to explain thoroughly, show illustrative situations, etc., but players' awareness of VAR is still not very high. Therefore, the role of the teams is extremely important, because only the clubs can supervise the players every day and have the responsibility to thoroughly communicate the uses of VAR during each training session.

Referees review VAR in V-League matches.

According to Mr. Doan Minh Xuong, only when Vietnamese players truly value VAR will they learn to control their behavior and gradually abandon bad habits. This is also a crucial factor in making the image of Vietnamese football more positive.

Coach Nguyen Duc Thang (The Cong Viettel Club) emphasized that many Vietnamese players must change their mindset about playing football, as VAR is the "nemesis" of dirty tactics.

Meanwhile, coach Nguyen Thanh Cong (Ha Tinh Club) said: "VAR can help reduce on-field violence. Players need to control their behavior while playing. However, habits cannot be broken overnight. Players are also human, and emotions on the field are sometimes difficult to control. Therefore, it takes time for players to break bad habits."

If you're smart, you won't be afraid of VAR!

Expert Doan Minh Xuong shared: "For Vietnamese football to maintain stability in terms of performance, it also needs to eliminate ugly play. VAR will certainly continue to appear in top continental and world competitions. If Vietnamese national teams do not want to pay the price, they must make adjustments, starting with the V-League, which is considered the foundation. There are three things that need to be done: widely apply VAR in the domestic league, starting with the V-League; refereeing needs to be stricter; and clubs must strengthen the education of football ethics for players, this is the most important factor to pay attention to. In the current objective conditions, when VAR is not yet widely applied, the awareness and fighting spirit of the players are extremely important."

Similarly, coach Nguyen Duc Thang stated: "Daily training sessions will form habits for the players. Matches are a way to demonstrate those training habits. I always remind my players to play aggressively but wisely, not dirty. On the training field, we can observe the actions and behavior of the players and need to correct them immediately to avoid unnecessary incidents on the field. Through the process of training and education, the players will overcome bad habits and won't need to worry about whether or not there is VAR."

Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong said: "The management and coaching staff must instill the spirit of playing football in the players, especially with the presence of VAR. For me, I would never condone unsportsmanlike conduct. Players should only focus on playing football." (to be continued)

B. START WITH TRAINING THE YOUNG

Expert Doan Minh Xuong stated: "Education to raise awareness about playing fair and beautiful football without fouls must be implemented even in non-professional leagues, and especially in youth leagues. Young players are the foundation of the V-League and many levels of the Vietnamese national team. Therefore, if young players are thoroughly educated and bad playing habits are not formed from the beginning, then there will be no need to worry about VAR later."

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