PSSI Completes Referee Selection, Those Who Escape Participate In Preparation For VAR Use In Liga 1 2023/2024

JAKARTA - The All-Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) has completed the selection of national referees. As a result, a number of referees who passed will continue training on the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

This is as explained by the General Chairperson (Ketum) of PSSI, Erick Thohir. in a press conference that took place at the GBK Arena, Thursday, June 22 afternoon. He said the referee who passed the League 1 selection would also take part in VAR operational training for six months.

"The same thing, they (the referee who passed the selection) will be part of the first six months of training. If I'm not mistaken, the league has also proposed it, well," said Erick Thohir.

The man who also serves as Minister of SOEs said the referee who passed was also immediately undergoing training which began at the end of June.

VAR training for referees who pass the selection aims to be able to optimally operate VAR in order to prevent abuse.

"How many times did they start practicing VAR, this is already June 20 if I'm not mistaken, so they have started training," said Erick.

"Because it's useless if we (the referees) can't carry out their operations, the traffic jams are useless, it's useless if we can't use it, it's useless. Because all of this can be tricked," he continued.

He also said that in the VAR training, the referees would not only carry out VAR operations, but would also get provisions regarding the handling of possible obstacles.

The selection of these referees was launched by PSSI in collaboration with the Japan Football Association (JFA). They sent Yoshimi Ogawa (member of Japan Football Association Referee Committee) and Toshiyuki Nagi (JFA Referee Instructor and JFA Top Amateur Referee Manager) as instructors and supervisors.

From the selection of League 1 referees, 55 names participated with the number of referees who passed were 28 people. Later, of the 28 names that passed, the rank 1-19 will serve in Liga 1 and the rest will fill the referee quota in Liga 2.