The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has written to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to explore the possibility of India participating in the trial of the ‘Additional Video Review System’ (AVRS). “The President’s recommendation aims to consider the extension of the existing technical infrastructure to accommodate an ‘on-demand’ video review request from the referees through a multi-angle, multi-camera broadcast feed,” AIFF said in an official statement.
“Our prime objective here is to reduce the margin of error by empowering match officials with the technology to assist in their decision-making. While we will continue to work to implement VAR, I feel that, to begin with, AVRS can be a great option for a country like India. AVRS would help us study the impact of the technology, train our match officials with the new concept, and assess its adaptation by players, coaches, and clubs alike,” AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said.
Currently, the mass adoption of VAR is limited due to financial and infrastructure requirements set out in FIFA’s Implementation Assistance and Approval Programme (IAAP).
Only about 30 percent of the 211 football-playing nations–mainly in Europe and South America–currently have VAR subscriptions for either full domestic seasons or selective stages. The President has suggested the AIFF Referee Department undertake the study to seek FIFA’s suggestions and approval.