The management of VAR continues to be controversial in Colombian football. Several discussed decisions have generated noise in the development of the 2024-I League.
One of the most recent cases occurred on Sunday, in the match between Deportivo Pereira and Junior de Barranquilla, in which the referee Andrés Rojas, at the request of the VAR, headed by Keiner Jiménez, validated a goal by Steven Rodríguez in the last minute, in which there was an advanced position by Carlos Bacca in the previous action.
The president of the Colombian Football Federation, Ramón Jesurún, assured that they consulted with international organizations and they told them that the performance of the referee group in that match was correct.
“The VAR is fulfilling its role, they are responsible for reviewing the respective video to illustrate to the referee and the referee having a technological concept of the play. Finally, the regulations say that the referee is the one who ends up making the decision… The play generated a lot of controversy, that play was consulted internationally and they told us that the VAR had acted perfectly. “We did it with international entities,” Jesurún told Caracol Radio.
In addition, the leader revealed that Fifa sent them a letter in which, according to him, they highlighted their handling of the use of VAR. “They tell us that after having made some reviews, from the technological point of view and the training courses that we have carried out, that the work was very good and that it was going well,” he added.
However, the letter does not say that. The letter was published on the website of the Colombian Football Federation, both in its English version and in its Spanish translation, in which there is even a spelling error.
What the letter says is that Fifa certifies the use of VAR in Colombia for three full seasons, and that, from now on, the FCF has the autonomy as “organizer with competition experience with the use of VAR.”
Until now, Fifa, through a program called “Implementation Assistance and Approval” (IAAP), had to carry out an approval process. Now, the FCF can do it directly, although it must present reports every year on the use of the tool.
That certification is granted to all federations that complete three years using VAR in full seasons.
This is the translation of the letter published by the FCF:
Dear Dr. Tamayo:
We hope this letter finds you well. We are pleased to inform you that the Colombian Football Federation has received final approval for the use of VAR by FIFA and is now listed as an organizer with experience of competitions with the use of VAR.
Experienced competition organizers are those who have used the VAR tool in a complete championship for at least three consecutive years and who have received the proper certification of use in a consecutive manner.
Consequently, these competition organizations are waiving the approval process for the “Implementation Assistance and Approval” (IAAP) program immediately and will no longer need to obtain approval from FIFA for the use of the VAR in its powers.
This step is intended (sic) to hand over full responsibility to the organizers of the competitions, and give them the opportunity to be more flexible with regard to VAR preparation and training, the courses that field and VAR referees will receive, in addition to operational themes.
Although FIFA approval is no longer necessary, we would like to emphasize that the future use of the VAR tool in its competitions must still be carried out in accordance with the rules of the game, the VAR protocol and the latest modifications and IAAP requirements.
Looking forward, FIFA will continue to require basic information about VAR in order to continue monitoring and ensuring the development of VAR around the world. FIFA will request information from the VAR project manager before and after each season. After the information is delivered, the organizers of the competitions will have the approval to continue using the VAR in their championships. The information must be delivered at least 15 days before the start of the first competition of the season in which the tool is used. Likewise, we ask that FIFA be informed in case the person in charge of the project changes.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Colombian Football Federation and its VAR team for the honest cooperation in this project over the last few years, and we wish them continued success in the use of VAR. We are always attentive and available at any time, for any assistance you require.
Sincerely,
FIFA
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