Is there a problem with VAR referees in V-League?

Is there a problem with VAR referees in V-League? - Photo 1.

FIFA referee Tran Ngoc Anh reviews VAR at Pleiku stadium - Photo: MINH ANH

After reviewing VAR, FIFA referee Tran Ngoc Anh did not recognize Minh Vuong's goal for Hoang Anh Gia Lai Club (HAGL) in the 21st minute. This decision caused the coaching staff of the home team HAGL to "act up" in the tunnel after the match. The leadership of HAGL Club even went into the referee room to protest.

VAR is still controversial

Sitting in the VAR room at Pleiku Stadium were 32-year-old VAR referee Nguyen Ngoc Tung and assistant VAR - veteran referee Nguyen Dinh Thai (46 years old). VAR intervened, helping FIFA referee Tran Ngoc Anh determine that Dung Quang Nho (HAGL) kicked Huynh Tan Tai's leg, so Minh Vuong's goal was not recognized. The referee awarded the away team a free kick and overrode the assistant's previous decision to raise the flag for offside.

FIFA referee Tran Ngoc Anh's decision has a basis but still cannot satisfy HAGL. Therefore, HAGL said it will sue the referee to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), and at the same time send a petition to the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Police Department for consideration. Another match where VAR caused controversy in the 2024-2025 V-League, although no one has confirmed whether the referee's decision is right or wrong.

The 1-1 draw between Thanh Hoa and Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) in round 18 also had problems. The referee team ignored two collisions in each team's penalty area, both of which could have resulted in penalties.

The first incident occurred in the 7th minute, when goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet (SLNA) fouled Le Van Thang. The second incident occurred in the 79th minute, when Le Van Thuan (Thanh Hoa) kicked Benjamin Kuku in the leg. Although VAR replayed the incident many times, the referee still considered both incidents not to be fouls.

In the VAR car at Thanh Hoa Stadium were VAR referee Do Anh Duc and assistant VAR Phan Huy Hoang. The judgment of these two referees caused main referee Nguyen Trung Kien to ignore two situations that could have awarded a penalty.

Although no team has spoken out, the quality of VAR has come to a point where it needs to be discussed again. Because in addition to the young referee who made mistakes due to lack of experience, the best referee in Vietnam, FIFA Elite referee Ngo Duy Lan, also made a wrong judgment when sitting in the VAR room in the quarter-final match of the 2024-2025 National Cup between B.Binh Duong and Phu Dong Ninh Binh. This responsibility belongs to the VFF Referee Board.

Is there a problem with VAR referees in V-League? - Photo 2.

Applying VAR is progress in V-League but also reveals many controversies - Photo: TTO

Why?

In the 2024-2025 season, V-League was able to apply VAR in all 7 matches in a round. This is a remarkable effort by VFF and Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF).

However, with a large working capacity, the referee team (not including the technical team) is overloaded, making mistakes is inevitable. But VAR is applied to help referees make more accurate decisions but continuously causes public reaction, which is clearly not okay.

To date, the VFF Referee Board has trained 4 VAR referee courses. Most recently, in early April 2025, 27 referees completed step 2 - training in the LAB (laboratory) for 5 short days with expert Farkhad Abdullaev. "Completing the class is just the first step. How to apply the acquired knowledge depends entirely on each student" - expert Farkhad Abdullaev assessed at the end of the training course.

Short training time, large number of students, lack of practical experience are the problems of VAR training in Vietnam. If we only rely on the capacity of each referee, expecting each student to equip themselves with knowledge and self-study, the output quality will hardly be similar.

The VFF Referee Board currently has 36 VAR referees certified by FIFA (referees and assistant referees). A round of 7 matches with VAR requires 42 referees and assistant referees. Not to mention that VFF must register the list and send it to FIFA. Therefore, it is inevitable that the controversial referee in this match will still be on duty in the next match.

In fact, VPF and the VFF Referee Board also recognized the limitations of the VAR referee team to find ways to overcome them, especially after the mistake of Elite FIFA referee Ngo Duy Lan. Therefore, in rounds 17 and 19 of V-League 2024 - 2025, VPF hired more foreign referees to sit in the VAR room next to the main referee, who is also a foreigner.

After round 19, V-League has only 7 rounds left to finish. The race to avoid relegation and win the championship is getting more and more fierce so the referees are not allowed to make mistakes.

Struggling at the bottom of the table

The two latest matches of round 19 of V-League 2024 - 2025 will take place today (April 20) between Song Lam Nghe An - Quang Nam and SHB Da Nang - Nam Dinh (6:00 p.m., FPT Play THTT).

Song Lam Nghe An is currently ranked 12th out of 14 teams with 18 points, 2 points behind Quang Nam. Therefore, if they can defeat their opponents, coach Phan Nhu Thuat and his team will rise up and push Quang Nam down to the relegation group. Three points in this match will bring many advantages to both teams in the relegation race.

The battle between the top and bottom of the table also promises to be difficult to surprise. The bottom team SHB Da Nang is getting closer and closer to returning to the First Division, and is being haunted by bad luck as all three foreign players are injured or not in the best physical condition after recovering. Therefore, coach Le Duc Tuan's team is predicted to have "less good than bad" when hosting the reigning champion Nam Dinh, who is leading the table.

Results of two matches on April 19: B.Binh Duong - Hanoi 0-3, Thanh Hoa - The Cong Viettel 3-1.