KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Video review is set to help referees at next year’s Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
The Asian Football Confederation says it wants to use the technology “at some stage” in the 24-team tournament, which will be played from January 5 to February 1.
The AFC’s executive committee wish is “pending final confirmation that all necessary preparation is in place.”
The video assistant referee (VAR) system was tested in some European leagues and other competitions worldwide before Fifa used it at the World Cup in Russia.
AFC President Sheikh Salman says “it was clear to everyone that there needed to be a great deal of training of officials and investment in facilities to make sure that the system was effective.”
Video review will start being used to help referees next season in the Champions League, after the technology makes its UEFA debut at the Super Cup.
The UEFA executive committee also decided on Thursday to approve the VAR system for the 2020 European Championship and the 2020-2021 Europa League.
The first UEFA game using technological help for referees is expected to be 14 months after Fifa introduced it at the World Cup in Russia. On August 14 in Istanbul, the Super Cup game will pair this season’s Champions League and Europa League winners.
The timetable was hinted at last month by UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, who has been more skeptical than Fifa counterpart Gianni Infantino about the readiness of match officials to use the often-controversial protocols.
“We are confident that introducing video assistant referees in August 2019 will give us enough time to put in place a robust system and to train match officials to ensure an efficient and successful implementation,” Ceferin said on Thursday in a statement.