Taking a page from CONCACAF, the AFC will send 30 referees to a tournament with 39 matches. It's sort of a changing of the card in Asia with only a few big familiar names (Faghani, Irmatov, Shukrallah, etc.) so it's an interesting tournament to watch, particularly as a couple Arab referees will likely be selected for 2022. But I'm mainly posting the list because Mexico is sending a trio led by Cesar Ramos. http://www.the-afc.com/afc/documents/PdfFiles/afc-asian-cup-uae-2019-list-of-match-officials
AFC implementing VAR at the Asian Cup but only for the knockout stages. http://www.the-afc.com/asiancup/news/implementation-of-var-system-at-uae-2019-takes-centre-stage Just when you think one of the international soccer bodies takes a bewildering decision, another one comes along to one-up them. If you allegedly have nineteen officials trained in the use of VAR, how do you not also have enough coverage for the group stage?
Also, this little pamphlet is interesting but check out the language in the parenthetical for SFP on page 8: http://www.the-afc.com/afc/documents/PdfFiles/a-guide-to-video-assistant-referee-var
Group A UAE - Bahrain: MAKHADMEH (JOR) Thailand - India: LIU (HKG) Group B Australia - Jordan: AL-KAF (OMN) Syria - Palestine: IRMATOV (UZB)
What happens when you don’t have a lot (any?) practice with AARs? https://streamable.com/ltzu1 Referee staring right at it from seven yards, gives nothing. AAR, from about 22 yards and looking through six bodies, says it’s deliberate handling. Okay. I guess there’s no way to know for sure because we have no indication what the standards will be with AFC officials (unlike in other competitions) but I’ve got to think there’s a good chance VAR would say this is obviously wrong. So match 1 gives us a critical mistake that not only would VAR have fixed, but the whole thing would have been prevented without having inexperienced AARs. The obvious own goal from the AFC happens straight out of the gate. As a side note, I know I’m in the minority but I still think AARs are a good idea even with VAR. But they have to be experienced and well trained. That’s not the case here.
In slow motion it looks like hand to ball. But with real-time, it could look like ball to hand in a natural position. Maybe not an obvious error.
Amazing start to a match today. https://streamable.com/azvmy Great reminder to always be looking for advantage. Referee likely gets the card right, but I wonder if he’ll get knocked for not seeing the advantage here. I know the Vietnam defenders stopped, but the way this played out only an excellent save from the goalkeeper would have prevented a goal. All very hard to do mere seconds into the match. I’m sure I would have just whistled the foul to ensure I got the early card.
I just wanted to take a moment to thank MassachusettsRef for posting these great video clips. It is unfortunate no channel purchased the rights to televise this fantastic event in the U.S. I have had to settle for the two-minute highlight videos posted on social media (which is certainly better than nothing, but live coverage of the full match would be much better). As a referee, tournaments like this offer a great opportunity to learn and these clips are wonderful. So thank you again for taking the time to do what you are doing, and please keep 'em coming!
I would hope that, if I ever were to do such a high level match, that I could recognize the advantage and call it. Even if not, I take great consolation in the fact that the player is obviously in so much pain that I can rest easy in my decision to stop for serious injury.
Group C China - Kyrgyzstan: ABDULLAH MOHAMMED (UAE) South Korea - Philippines: SHUKRALLA (BHR) Group D Iran - Yemen: SATO (JPN) Iraq - Vietnam: AL-JASSIM (QAT) Group E Saudi Arabia - North Korea: GREEN (AUS) Qatar - Lebanon: MA (CHN) Group F Japan - Turkmenistan: FAGHANI (IRN) Uzbekistan - Oman: KO (KOR)
Group A Bahrain - Thailand: BEATH (AUS) India - UAE: RAMOS (MEX) Group B Jordan - Syria: KIM (KOR) Palestine - Australia: KOVALENKO (UZB) Group C Philippines - China: KIMURA (JPN) Kyrgyzstan - South Korea: AL-MARRAI (QAT) Group D Vietnam - Iran: TAQI (SGP) Yemen - Iraq: FU (CHN)
Group E Lebanon - Saudi Arabia: SABAH (IRQ) North Korea - Qatar: PERERA (LKA) Group F Oman - Japan: YAACOB (MAS) Turkmenistan - Uzbekistan: AL-JENEIBI (UAE)
Group A UAE - Thailand: SATO (JPN) India - Bahrain: TANTASHEV (UZB) Both matches are crucial in this tight group. Groups C, D, E and F already have the top two decided, although with some third-placed teams advancing, there is still plenty to play for.
Group B Australia - Syria: RAMOS (MEX) Palestine - Jordan: QASSIM (IRQ) Big match for Ramos. Also a rematch of the AFC Playoff for the 2018 World Cup.
Group C South Korea - China: AL-JASSIM (QAT) Kyrgyzstan - Philippines: AL-KHUDHAYR (KSA) Group D Vietnam - Yemen: AL-KAF (OMN) Iran - Iraq: IRMATOV (UZB) Second matches for Al-Jassim, Al-Kaf and Irmatov.
Uh-oh: https://streamable.com/af0vf Luckily this didn't affect progression or team rankings. But it's not good for Ramos or his AAR. But it will be used as a poster-child for why VARs are preferable to AARs. Too bad about that AFC decision, huh?
Ha. I guess these highlights failed to disclose the punchline. The penalty was awarded (and converted, to make the score 2-2).
Group E Saudi Arabia - Qatar: KIM (KOR) Lebanon - North Korea: BEATH (AUS) Group F Oman - Turkmenistan: SHUKRALLA (BHR) Japan - Uzbekistan: ABDULLAH MOHAMMED (UAE) Second matches for all four referees.
Oof. This has come up a lot. With VAR, do AAR's just go away? The only levels of matches that use AAR's (that I can think of) could all realistically institute VAR
I don't think the answer to that is known yet. While they are not mutually exclusive, it does seem to me extravagant and a strain on qualified personnel to have the AARs once VAR is in place--it would seem to me that any call they would likely assist the R with would be one subject to VAR review. My guess is that we won't see AARs continue, but so far as I know all one can do right now is guess at that.
The first tests will be the Asian Cup KO round and the UCL knockout stages. If the AFC keeps AARs, that might just be political. Honestly, their presence seems to be political but that’s a different matter. If the UCL keeps AARs, that’s a different matter. It seems like a decision must have been made already, since UEFA just had its major VAR training seminar, but I haven’t seen a definitive public answer yet. I think most people assume they go away due to the resource question, which you allude to. But it also sounds like VARs won’t necessarily be paired with referees based on nationality, so with limited matches to cover in the knockout half of the season, it actually wouldn’t be that tough (the 2019-2020 group stages, on the other hand, seem like a logistical nightmare with or without AARs!).