Portuguese Football League and Federation confirm
August 9, 2019 – 12:01
VARs will be assisted by offside lines at all meetings of the 1st Portuguese Football League, the Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP) and the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) confirmed on Friday.
“The lines used are the only ones certified by the CA [FPF Arbitration Council] and will allow a rigorous analysis of the bids that fall within the scope of the VAR protocol: goals and penalties,” read the statement. According to the same document, “there will be no extra cameras, nor any interference from the operators that transmit the games”,and “the method of bid analysis is not changed in what is protocoled”. “There is only one other operator on the team at the video referee center in the City of Football and dedicated exclusively to offside lines,” they say.
The statement also reveals that “the Portuguese Professional Football League and the clubs were informed about the operation of this system by the Referee Council, which this week provided all the clarifications”.
The implementation of the offside lines in the VAR in the First League had been announced last June 3 by both organizations.
At the time, FPF and LPFP considered that they were providing the necessary resources “in order to meet the demands of the competition.”
The video referee (VAR) made his debut in the main Portuguese football competitions in 2017/18, having worked for two seasons without the offside lines.
The 2019/20 edition of I Liga begins today, with the reception of Portimonense to Belenenses SAD.
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