Naxxar coach Vella calls for VAR introduction to abolish costly referee mistakes

Naxxar Lions coach George Vella has called on football authorities to draw a tangible plan for the introduction of the VAR after his side saw their hopes of clinching a crucial victory over Gżira United compromised by a controversial refereeing decision during their 1-1 draw at the Tony Bezzina Stadium on Sunday.

The Lions looked on their way to secure victory on Sunday after Luan Sergio put them ahead midway through the first half.

But in the closing stages of the match, the Lions saw their match drift away from their grasp as after seeing forward Degran Jackson dismissed for a second bookable offence on 88 minutes, they ended up dropping two points when Christian Saint-Ebisindor headed home the equaliser from a  highly dubious offside position.

The introduction of technology in Maltese football has been a major talking point during the past months among football officials and fans and prior to the start of this season, Malta Premier League chairman Joseph Muscat had said that the introduction of VAR was inevitable if the league is played on a professional basis. But so far, technology has yet to be introduced in Maltese football.

“I am really disappointed with how things evolved today against Gżira United,” Vella told the Times of Malta.

“After putting so much effort throughout the 90 minutes our hopes of victory were ended by a very dubious referee decision, and it was very heart-breaking for all the players and technical staff.

“I believe it’s time that we make the step in the right direction in Maltese football and introduce VAR technology. In the past months we have seen a lot of improvements in key areas such as marketing, the organisation of the leagues, the TV coverage of matches and how it is shot, introduction of new sponsorships but we still are still lacking in the refereeing section.”

Vella emphasised that he is not referring to the quality of Maltese referees but on the tools, they are given to ensure the best possible decisions in key moments of matches.

“I am not referring to the quality of the referees but on the tools, they are provided to officiate top-flight matches. Unfortunately, Maltese officials are not on the same level playing field with foreign referees in terms of their resources as they do not have assistance from the Video Assistant Referee,” Vella said.

“In the past we used to say that referee errors, being in favour or against, will in the long run be neutralised over the course of a season.

“But in the new format of the Premier League that was introduced this season we could see the league title, European qualification and even relegation decided by play-offs and deciders and referee decisions could have far more serious consequences.

“This is because due to a mistake a team could lose a decider and end up relegated or else miss out on the league championship and finish as runners-up and that is really costly as the difference in the money a club receives when playing Champions League football to Conference League is substantial.”

Vella said it’s time football authorities take action to ensure a fair judgement in league matches.

“It’s crucial that we introduce some sort of plan to have VAR in Maltese football,” Vella added.

“There are various level of VAR to choose from but we need some form of technological assistance from our referees to ensure we have a fair judgement during matches. Having technology referees will be much more relaxed on football pitches when officiating top matches.

“I am saying this not because today we may have been deprived of what would have been a crucial victory from a very dubious offside decision but because we want a fair judgement during a match.

“We accept that a referee is a human being and can commit a mistake like everyone else and he needs help to eradicate these mistakes from matches as much as possible.”