AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey confirms the implementation of VAR Lite in Indian football from next season

Indian football is going through some drastic changes and one such change has to be the implementation of the VAR Lite from the upcoming season. The All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey recent visited Belgium and it is reportedly said that they have got this idea from the Belgium FA and will be implementing it to Indian football from the next season.

Many people feel this is a result of the highly controversial playoff game between Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters. A controversial freekick from Sunil Chhetri saw Blasters coach Ivan Vukomanovic walking off the ground along with his players. While Bengaluru FC won the game and went on to play in the finals, it was a major talking point and a very bad advertisement for the league globally.

Kalyan Chaubey revealed that he was impressed to see how the Belgian FA is using technology at a much lower cost. Hence he is eager to implement that in Indian football. He feels that the technology will help the referees be more careful with some of the game changing decisions.

“For their VAR system, Belgium has found a lighter version or a reasonable version of using the technology at a much lower cost,” Chaubey told TOI on Saturday. “At their headquarters, with 16 monitors and four (person) manpower, they can conduct four matches. India has many IT experts. If we can take the help of young graduates, we can understand what Belgium is following and use our own VAR-Lite.”

AIFF back in 2020 enquired about VAR implementation and at that time the costs were as high as approximately Rs 18-20 lakh per match and Rs 15-20 crore per season. The FIFA stipulated rules require VAR to use minimum four cameras to judge offsides. VAR also requires more match officials, further increasing the cost of implementation.

Hence Chaubey feels that implementing VAR lite will be a better deal for Indian football. He has revealed that he has received several messages from fans. Most of them want VAR implementation. So Chaubey feels this will be a welcome addition to Indian football.

“We are coming up with VAR (Lite). I have seen a couple of matches, incidents (of errors) and the subsequent fan reactions. I have received many emails, messages on social media. They want VAR to be implemented, or at least human error-free matches. We have employed referees to ensure their financial security, but at the end of the day, they are human,” the AIFF president added.

The Indian president has shown full support to the referees and understands their perspective. He shared how the referees are humans and can make mistakes but it is his duty to aid them with proper facilities to make amends. “Refereeing is a thankless job. They can make errors, but we have to get them the support that others get globally. When the referee takes the field, he is the only individual wearing a jersey and not getting any support. The other two teams have a fan base. There are fans to cheer them, but nobody to support the referee,” he concluded.