SANTIAGO – Colo Colo will be the first Chilean football club that will play under the VAR system when it clashes with the Brazilian Palmeiras during the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals on September 20.
This will be the first time that a Chilean football club will see the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in its matches. This system was used during the last year’s Confederations Cup where the Chilean national side, also known as La Roja (The Red), lost the final to Germany 1-0.
The decision was made by Alejandro Domínguez, the South American Football Confederation (CONMBEOL) president in July during the Russia World Cup. “It’s been decided to apply the VAR in the quarter-finals of our competitions”, said Domínguez in the Russian capital, Moscow, in a reference to the two other prestigious football events in South America: Copa Sudamericana and Recopa Sudamericana.
The first round of the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals will kick off on Tuesday (September 18) when the three-time champion, the Brazilian Gremio, will meet the Argentinean Atlético Tucuman on the home turf, Porto Alegre.
On the 20th, the Santiago club Colo Colo will face another Brazilian rival, the Palmeiras, at home, the Monumental Stadium in the Chilean capital, at 21.45 hours local time.
Programación de Cuartos de Final de la #CONMEBOLLibertadores. pic.twitter.com/UV4FUSCbzw
— CONMEBOL.com (@CONMEBOL) August 31, 2018
“After the CONMEBOL decision, [the Spanish audiovisual company] Mediapro won the tender. This company uses a decentralised VAR technology, that is to say, they will arrive with their container truck, which looks like an office, equipped with all the technological elements to adjust them to the TV cameras that will help supply them with the VAR service,” explains Enrique Osses, the referees’ commission president at Chile’s National Football Association (ANFP), cited by the Chilean media.
He added that the three referees, neither Chilean nor Brazilian, will be inside the truck office: “one is the VAR referee, the other, his assistant and the third will monitor the offside”.
Chilean football officials are also studying how to start implementing the video technology in the country’s national matches. “We are looking at it and if it goes as planned will organize a tender in October so the companies can present their best offers in November,” said Osses.
