Players do not want VAR in AFF Cup 2022

In a video posted on January 2, the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) interviewed four English-speaking players, including Irfan Fandi (Singapore), Kenshiro Daniels (Philippines), Thierry Bin (Cambodia) and Dang Van Lam , on whether to apply VAR. Fandi said: "I'm playing in Thailand and VAR is important and helps a lot. But it also destroys the appeal of football, so I say no to VAR."

Daniels and Bin also share the same opinion as Fandi. The Philippines striker said that "VAR only slows down the game". "I also don't agree with a lot of VAR decisions, like nail-width offside," added Daniels. "I oppose VAR".

The Cambodian midfielder thinks VAR "robbed the magic of football". "Because they stop the game, and sometimes VAR makes mistakes," Bin said. "So there's no need for VAR, and enjoy the game."

Goalkeeper Van Lam also initially disagreed with the inclusion of VAR in football. "But VAR makes the game fairer, so that's fine," said the Vietnamese goalkeeper.

VAR did not appear in the group stage of the AFF Cup 2022 because of many problems. In addition to the cost and technical factors, the use of VAR needs to be approved by FIFA. In addition, many referees are not familiar with how to use this technology, both on the field and in the VAR room.

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and coach Park Hang-seo once suggested AFF use VAR in the next tournaments, after the controversial semi-final match with Thailand at the AFF Cup 2021. AFF accepted this idea, but Not applicable for AFF Cup yet.