I want VAR to be introduced in ISL, says AIFF's Chief Refereeing Officer Trevor Kettle

Trevor Kettle also mentioned how technology helps the free flow of football.

Video Assistant Referee (VAR) has been debated in the Indian football circuit for quite a few years. While football in India is still on a growing stage, a regular demand for bringing in technology to assist the on-field referees has been voiced by some of the known personalities in the football fraternity. 

Trevor Kettle who joined AIFF in 2022 as the Chief Refereeing Officer (CRO) has provided his insights and take on VAR being introduced in the games that are played in India, during an interview with Khel Now. 

Here are certain questions that Trevor Kettle answered during the interaction. 

VAR needs to be introduced

In a simple reply, Trevor Kettle agreed on VAR being introduced for games in India. He said, “I want VAR to be introduced. I want to increase the key match incident accuracy as much as possible.” If we have a look at why did the Premier League bring in VAR when they were reaching 88% accuracy, it’s because they wanted to improve it.

“Because of the demands of the clubs, a lot of clubs are making huge investments in India. They want to make sure that as many of the errors are eradicated as possible. We can achieve that if we have technology,” Trevor Kettle added.

How technology helps sports

Trevor Kettle even emphasized on the importance of technology in different sports and how it can help football prosper in the country. 

Trevor Kettle stated, “Technology is not perfect. Even in certain sports, it’s a matter of fact. In cricket, they use technology to know whether the ball is going to hit the wicket or not and In tennis, it’s about whether the ball is out or not.”

“But, refereeing in football still has a lot of opinions. However, there are some of those disciplines which you know where referees do get it wrong which can be rectified easily,” Trevor Kettle appended.

We have infrastructure ready 

According to the CRO, most of the needed infrastructure has been put forth at the venues, which means most of the work has been done which will make it easy for the organization to implement it. 

“I’ve done a feasibility study and a cost study. Now, it sits with AIFF and FSDL. At the last AIFF AGM, the AIFF agreed to bring in the technology to the game. So, now it’s down to the powers to make that happen. Yes, there is a cost, always, a financial cost,” Trevor Kettle voiced.

“But, I think it is possible because already major infrastructure costs, such as the production cameras which would be used, the fiber optic cables which would go back to the central hub, are in place at the venues. So, I’m hopeful,” Trevor Kettle added. 

Difference between VAR & VAR Lite

When asked about the difference between VAR and VAR Lite, Trevor Kettle replied, “VAR Lite now isn’t feasible, for instance for India. VAR Lite is used when a VAR system uses eight or fewer cameras. By using fewer cameras, it means that you don’t need a replay operator alongside the VAR and AVR.

“Once you extend above eight cameras, you have to use a refill inverter. In the Indian Super League (ISL), they always use more than eighth cameras.”

“So, we can’t be selective and say we’re only going to use eight cameras because there could be a camera angle there which would prove a decision right or wrong. If we don’t use that camera angle, we would be heavily criticized. It would be pointless not using it. So, because of the good infrastructure and production of the ISL, it will be VAR,” Trevor Kettle concluded.

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