In a press conference Monday the FMF announced the arrival of VAR to the Liga MX. They plan to begin implementing it in games starting with Jornada 13.
VAR (Video Assistant Referee) will officially be making its way to the Liga MX as early as this year with the start date for Jornada 13 for the senior clubs. The testing process will begin sooner than that, however, starting Tuesday during the U-20 games.
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This doesn’t mean that the VAR is here to stay, but this is part of the application process that the league must go through to make sure that they are equipped with the proper equipment and staff to carry out the VAR system throughout all 18 stadiums. In addition, officials have to be properly trained. The Mexican Football Federation will then carry out practice tests during Jornada 13 and 14 to ensure everything is being done right and in Jornada 15 and 16, the International Football Association Board will be present for the final test to see if they pass and be certified for VAR or fail and be denied. The hope is that FMF gets licensed for VAR to begin using it for the start of the Apertura playoffs.
Adding VAR to Liga MX will be an added effort to keep promoting fair play in the league and try to put an end to the major controversial calls that have been big difference makers in postseason play, especially.
This could be a great thing for the league. In 5 weeks of play in this years tournament we have seen plenty of red cards, questionable off-side calls and other missed calls that have made game-changing differences.
For those same reasons, having VAR in Liga MX could potentially slow down the play of the game. Throughout the league, we see a number of players diving, faking injuries, and getting away with calls. My main concern would be with how often the officials might be stopping the game to review these incidents and what would they consider review-able or non review-able.
As a fan, observer, and analyst of the game, I agree that it is time for VAR to be brought to Liga MX. Will we be able to handle the growing pains, though?