Thumbs Up To The Men In Black - FAM

KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 (Bernama) -- The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) Referees Unit has, based on its comprehensive analysis, rated the performance of the men in black in the 2024/2025 Malaysia League (M-League) season as excellent.

FAM deputy president Datuk S. Sivasundaram said this is based on the reports by the Referee Assessors, complaints from the teams and match video analysis - which are the benchmark in determining the referees’ performances in the Super League, Malaysia Cup and FA Cup competitions.

“Based on the FAM Referees Unit’s report, the performances of referees in the 2024/2025 M-League season has been rated as excellent compared to the 2023/2024 season.

“Last season, a total of 208 matches used the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology. Of the total, FAM only received five official complaints from the competing teams, namely four from Super League matches and one from a Malaysia Cup game,” he said in a media statement today.

Sivasundaram, who is also the FAM Referees Committee chairman, said every incident had been accurately reviewed by the VAR official and level of compliance with the VAR Protocol was excellent.  

“Of the 208 matches, VAR officials made 1,255 reviews (excluding silent checks). Of the 1,255 VAR checks, a total of 101 involved ‘On Field Rieview’ (OFR),” he said.

He also said that VAR technology did not disrupt the flow of games as the average time added on by VAR was lower at 1.96 minutes compared to 4.70 minutes by referees.

Sivasundaram added that data analysis showed that 647 goals were netted last year, with all goals checked by VAR officials before being confirmed.

Meanwhile, he said the use of VAR last season showed a positive trend based on the number of complaints lodged and the accuracy of referees’ decisions.

He pointed out that the number of complaints lodged in the 2024/2025 season dropped to 2.24 per cent compared to 4.15 per cent the previous season, while the accuracy of referees’ on-field decisions rose to 98.07 per cent compared to 88.76 per cent the previous season.

For the record, FAM are the sole football governing body in Southeast Asia to use the VAR technology for all 208 domestic matches in the Super League, Malaysia Cup, FA Cup and Challenge Cup (two matches).

-- BERNAMA