UDINE, ITALY – AUGUST 20: Assistan look the VAR during the Serie A match between Udinese Calcio and AC Chievo Verona at Friuli Stadium on August 20, 2017 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Dino Panato/Getty Images)
The German Football League has issued a statement with sharp criticism of the “massive technical problems” in the Video Assistant Referee system from service provider Hawk-Eye, calling the outages “unacceptable.”
Use of the VAR system that was supposed to assist match officials on the field with game-changing decisions was either unavailable or temporarily unavailable at times during three Bundesliga matches on Saturday afternoon, according to the DFL. There was no access to the calibrated line that assists with video reviews for off-sides.
Two weeks earlier, the DFL reported technical problems that led to the temporary loss of the calibrated line during the VAR system’s debut in Germany at the DFL-Supercup final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
According to the DFL, it would meet with Hawk-Eye management this week.
The statement came just a day after the league reported that VAR had gotten off to a successful start in Bundesliga with a match between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen. The VAR system led to 12 situations in the match that were reviewed, including one call where the VAR recommended a penalty kick and the decision was changed on the field in 36 seconds.
The video assistant referee, Dr. Jochen Drees, even said in a statement that despite a storm in Munich, he was able to maintain stable radio contact with the official on the field. Drees also praised the video assist center in Cologne and the two video operators who quickly got him the camera angles.
But the officials trying to implement the new system are only going to be successful in doing so when they are free from technical difficulties that have caused some consternation.
