AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022: VAR makes its debut in India at quarter-final matches

Mumbai: The quarter-final matches of the ongoing AFC Women’s Asian Cup saw the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology being used for the first time in the country. It was before the start of the tournament that the announcement was made that the AFC Asian Cup will see the use of the VAR from the knockout games. The quarter-final match between Japan and Thailand, which ended in a 7-0 win for the former, became the first match in India to use the technology. The VAR, though, was not needed to make any significant decisions in the match played in Navi Mumbai. The VAR became a much more prominent factor in the match that was simultaneously played in Pune. That game’s result was perhaps the biggest upset in the competition thus far as South Korea defeated pre-tournament favourites Australia 1-0. In the first half itself, a VAR check resulted in Korea receiving a penalty. But, Cho So-hyun could not convert from the spot. There was another significant penalty check in the second half when Steph Catley appeared to have been pushed inside the box, but the VAR, this time around, did not signal for a penalty. Soon after the decision, South Korea’s Ji So-yun scored the winning goal in the 87th minute to take her side into the final four. With the tournament reaching the business end, the VAR can further shape up the remainder of the tournament in new ways. How is VAR being implemented? At the Women’s Asian Cup, six dedicated video match officials have been given access to seven different live camera feeds to inspect all the live action on the field. VAR can review four categories of decisions – goal/no goal, penalty/no penalty, direct red card, and mistaken identity in awarding a red or yellow card. The VAR match official and the on-field referee work together to make the decisions. A review of decision can only be initiated by either of the two personnel and not by any player. The VAR official can ask an on-field referee to overturn his decision. At the same time, the on-field referee may also choose to conduct an on-field review (OFR) by halting the game and reviewing footage from the screen. At all times, the on-field referee can ignore the advice from the VAR.