Luciano Luci: "In the spring of the UPL Championship in each round in two matches VAR system will work"

09.12.2019 16:50

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

Today, the House of Football hosted a lecture and press conference by the chairman of the Committee of Arbitrators of the Ukrainian Association of Football Luciano Luci.

The event was dedicated to the program of preparation for the implementation of the VAR system in Ukraine. In addition to Luciano Luci, the press conference was attended by Deputy Head of the Arbitration Department Victor Derdo and three arbitrators who received training on the use of VAR - Eugene Aranovsky, Sergei Boyko and Mykola Balakin. 

Opening the event, Luciano Luci noted that today UAF Secretary General Yuriy Zapisotsky will sign a letter to FIFA and UEFA with an application for permission to use the video assistance system for referees in Ukraine.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

"The idea of ​​introducing the VAR system in Ukrainian football was put forward two years ago by UAF President Andriy Pavelko. Together with him, we realized that the absence of VAR automatically excludes our country from the European chain in the arbitration system. Our referees were not UEFA certified to work with the system and therefore had the opportunity to work only in Europa League matches, but, for example, in the Champions League - no.

The President of the UAF instructed me to go to Zurich and undergo appropriate training to work with the VAR. After that, we started working with judges and technical staff to implement the system. For the past six months, they have been working hard on their VAR training offline. Last Saturday we completed the last series of trainings. During this time, we conducted many simulations, in which we simulated various game situations and actions of referees for their successful solution. The main idea of ​​the VAR system is to help the referee, but not to replace him, "said Luciano Luci.

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

The chairman of the arbitrators committee also spoke about some of the technical and financial details of ensuring the preparation and future operation of the VAR system:

"Currently, all costs for the purchase of equipment, vehicles for movement and training are borne exclusively by the Ukrainian Football Association. We have one van with six workstations, where the system is actually installed, two EVS servers to provide video replays and 11 trained referees - eight men and three women who have passed the UEFA certification. In addition, a group for technical support of the VAR system has been created.

By February 22, ie before the beginning of the spring part of the Ukrainian championship, we plan to create mini-commissions of representatives of UAF, UPL and the committee of referees, who will choose two matches in each round, where the system of video assistance to referees will work. In addition, we are also going to ask the Premier League to arrange a meeting with coaches and team representatives by February 2020 to explain to them the principles of applying the VAR system. " 

According to Luciano Luci, neither team will be given an advantage in using the system. There are only three criteria for selecting matches: logistics, ie the ability to move the car from one stadium to another in a timely manner, the ability of the TV (number of cameras, HD signal, etc.) and calendar, because currently the VAR system can serve only one match per day.

Then the floor was given to the Deputy Head of the Arbitration Department Victor Derdo, who showed on the screen examples of the application of the system in various European and world championships. He said that according to the VAA protocol, there are only four categories of crucial episodes for the match, where the VAR system is allowed to be used: 1) scoring or not scoring a goal; 2) appointment or non-appointment of a penalty; 3) direct red cards (does not apply to withdrawals for the second yellow card); 4) erroneous player identification. 

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

"The referee's video assistant takes effect when the referee has already made a decision, including permission to continue the game. It is also possible that the officials of the match did not notice an important episode, which may affect the fate of the meeting, "said Victor Derdo. 

Yevhen Aranovsky told about some nuances of working with the VAR system: “Now the whole world is only at the initial stage of its implementation. But we can already say for sure that this is only in favor of football. There are two judges working inside the car - a VAR arbitrator and a VAR assistant, two repetition operators and a VAR inspector. Only the VAR referee is in touch with the main referee of the match. Only he can prompt the referees in the field, but the last word will still be left to the chief referee. "

Serhiy Boyko shared his impressions: “In my opinion, perhaps the most important factor in the successful work of VAR is communication, interaction with referees in the field, with EVS operators, who provide us with actual reruns of episodes. After all, even with 8-10 cameras, there are problems with a clear solution of the episodes, and very coordinated actions are needed. "

In turn, Mykola Balakin added: “In my opinion, the accuracy of the decision is more important than the speed of its adoption. We now understand how the system works and have learned to use it to solve episodes correctly. Now the main task is to increase the speed of interaction. During these six months of preparation, we have made a huge step forward. I believe that working with the VAR system will increase the credibility of our arbitrators in Europe. "

It will be recalled that the UAF Referees Committee recently received a positive report on the successful preparation for the use of VAR technology, which was reflected in the report of the head of the FIFA football technology department Sebastian Runge.