Turkish Football Federation plans to introduce new VAR system in Super Lig starting next month

By Ersin Siyhan

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish Football Federation (TFF) Vice President Mustafa Erogut said on Wednesday that the federation is working on a new system that will allow the public to view a video of a referee decision made using the Video Assistant Referee System (VAR).

Erogut said at a press conference in Ankara that the new practices will be implemented in Week 26 of the Trendyol Super Lig 2023-24 season, which will begin on Feb. 18.

The federation is working on a new system to share VAR recordings of Super Lig matches with the public, similar to the Spanish La Liga tournament, and will issue a final statement on the subject once the testing phase is complete.

VAR referee Mustafa Ilker Coskun also explained the Semi-Automatic Offside System, at the press conference saying 10 high-resolution cameras are installed in each stadium where Super Lig matches are played, and that these cameras instantly transmit images to the VAR center.

In this way, he pointed out that the time required to review a position, including the animation transmitted to the broadcasting organization, has significantly decreased.

- Changes in UEFA Observers, Central Referee Board structure

Erogut emphasized that 10 of UEFA's top officials will now play a decisive role in Turkish refereeing as observers.

In the new era without TV observers, the grades of this group of observers made up of former elite UEFA referees, will account for 50% of the referee's match score. Match observers in the stadium will have a 30% effect on the referee's score, while the grades given from a survey of 119 people, including VAR referees and match referees, will now have a 20% effect on the referee's overall score.

The new system is expected to be implemented beginning with the Week 26 matches in the Trendyol Super Lig.

The Central Referee Board’s (MHK) structure will also change, Erogut added.

The new MHK will be made up of five members. As before, three of these members will be determined by the TFF, while two members will be proposed and agreed upon by the Turkish Union of Clubs.

"There is a misunderstanding in the public opinion. It is thought that the representatives of the Turkish Union of Clubs are expected to be club representatives," he said, adding that "this is clearly against FIFA rules. There is no such thing. There will be people who will be proposed by the Turkish Union of Clubs but who are not members of clubs."

*Writing by Selcuk Bugra Gokalp​​​​​​​