Hummels supports use of VAR for ‘justice’

SINGAPORE: A day after Diego Maradona admitted his famous ‘Hand of God’ goal at the 1986 World Cup would have been ruled out had video assistant referees (VAR) been used back then, German defender Mats Hummels has backed the implementation of the system.

Governing body FIFA has tested VAR technology at several tournaments ahead of next year’s World Cup in Russia, including at last month’s Confederations Cup, and its head of refereeing Massimo Busacca said the technology should be refined.

For German international Hummels, however, the sooner the technology is introduced the better it will be for football once players and managers get used to using the system.

“I like it. I like the idea of getting the win in the end that was earned on the pitch and not by a wrong decision,” the Bayern Munich defender told reporters here on Wednesday, where the German side are playing in a pre-season tournament.

“I like the idea of VAR but of course we still need to work on the way it needs to be executed,” the 28-year-old added.“Maybe we could implement it in a similar way to how they do it in tennis. You can get one, two or three challenges per half as a coach.

“I am happy I don’t have to make the decision how it should be introduced as I don’t yet have a perfect solution. I think there is a way to put it in football to ensure there is greater justice.”Hummels’ club coach Carlo Ancelotti is also an advocate of the system and went as far as to say that the technology should be in use already.

“There are already some leagues using the system and some will start with the coming season but I already think it’s too late,” the Italian said.“To bring new rules into football is really difficult and I hope that we can have video assistant referees as soon as possible.”