VAR has impact on its Hong Kong Premier League debut as Sham Shui Po are denied goal
- Video assistant referee system, freshly introduced in the city, prompts match officials to disallow first-half goal that would have given Sham Shui Po a 2-1 lead
- North District gain upper hand in second half to record their first win in the top division
VAR took centre stage in its first application in the BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League on Sunday, when the technology ruled out a goal that would have given Sham Shui Po the lead over Crownity North District, who went on to win 4-1.
Sham Shui Po’s Chang Kwong-yin had the ball in the net at the 15-minute mark, but, following a review through the video assistant referee (VAR) system – newly introduced in the city’s top flight – the officials disallowed the goal. They found that Sham Shui Po player Leung Sing-yiu had been offside leading up to the shot.
Matheus Silva’s header had given top-flight newcomers North District the lead in the fourth minute at Sham Shui Po Sports Ground, only for his effort to be cancelled out by Nicholas Medeiros six minutes later.
The VAR reprieve ensured that the teams reached half-time with the score still level, before North District cut loose in the second half through goals by substitutes Wong Wai-kwok, who hit a brace, and former Sham Shui Po player Lo Kong-wai.
North District boss Leung Chi-wing, who was Kitchee’s assistant coach when they won last season’s title, said VAR had an impact on the teams’ mindsets even if it was impossible to say it was decisive.
“[A disallowed goal] always happens, but this time it was made through the video system,” he said. “There are always different decisions made in a match, and as long as they are fair, it is fine.
“But if we were down 2-1 in the first half, we might have had to make those substitutions a bit earlier.
“The players had to work hard for that [result]. It’s nice to get our first victory in the Premier League, and we hope the players can continue their good work to prove we can stay at this level.”
North District had earned a 1-1 draw against Resources Capital in their first match, while Sham Shui Po have now lost all three of their matches so far, including a humiliating 9-0 defeat by BC Rangers.
The Hong Kong Football Association’s head of refereeing Charles Cheung Yim-yau said he was pleased with the VAR’s first operation.
“Players, officials and even spectators still need time to get used to the system because this is something new for them, but it looked fine in this first match,” Cheung said.
Cheung confirmed to the Post that 77 league matches would have VAR this season, along with all FA Cup matches.
In another match on Sunday, Hong Kong international Chan Siu-kwan scored in stoppage time to give Tai Po a 1-0 victory at home to BC Rangers. Tai Po had beaten Eastern 1-0 last week.
