The training course was led by Farkhad Abdullaev, a FIFA instructor. — Photo VPF

HÀ NỘI — To improve the quality of VAR (Video Assistant Referee) technology at V.League 1, the Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF) and the Saudi Arabia Football Federation have collaborated to host a training course for VAR and AVAR (Assistant Video Assistant Referee) skills in Hà Nội.

The training course was led by FIFA instructor, Farkhad Abdullaev, who led a seminar involving 29 Vietnamese referees.

During the course, Abdullaev used a curriculum that covered a wide variety of content, including analysis of and identification of real life situations from past international football games. He also focused on teaching the referees about the operations and coordination required between the VAR referee team and the main referee to ensure the system was ussed effectively.

Abdullaev emphasised the importance of continuous learning and improvement for VAR operations teams and referees, noting that as football continues to develop, VAR is being used ever more widely to support referees, ensure accurate judgments and maintain fairness.

In the Vietnamese premiere league, VAR was introduced in the 2023 - 2024 season and is expected to be expanded throughout the V.League 1 in the 2024 - 2025 season.

Speaking about worries that using VAR causes interruptions to the play during matches, Abdullaev stated that the solution lies in the operations team constantly improving their professional qualifications. He emphasised that, when faced with the choice between time out and accuracy, the priority should always be on making the right decision.

While Abdullaev did not have the opportunity to directly observe the Vietnamese referees at work, he was positive about their football knowledge. He encouraged the VAR operations team in Việt Nam to keep up their skills and the importance of undertaking regular training courses like this. VNS