Australia's A-League will become the first top-level domestic football league in the world to implement the video assistant referee system, officials said yesterday.
After six months of training and lower-tier live trials, Football Federation Australia's director of referees Ben Wilson said he was confident most teething issues had been resolved.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will be used for the first time when Melbourne City host Adelaide United in Melbourne on Friday. The VAR experiment was used in last week's international friendly between France and Spain in Paris and earned mixed reviews, praised by most for being fairer but condemned by some for killing the spectacle.
France lost 2-0 in a game in which Spain benefited twice from crucial VAR decisions. A goal against the Spanish was disallowed after it was ruled offside in consultation with the video and a Spain goal disallowed by the referee for offside was overturned on review.
