Aytekin: VAR? “Audience must be educated”

FIFA referee Deniz Aytekin has defended the repeatedly criticised Video Assistant Referee (VAR). The 41-year-old also believes that fans will accept the technical aid in the medium term.

“I think it’s going to take a while for the fans to get used to the video evidence. The audience must be educated,” Aytekin told the Welt am Sonntag, adding: “In a few years, no one will complain that the review is taking too long.”

The FIFA referee also said: “I think the video evidence has made football fairer. This is also confirmed by a look at the figures. The technical aids will help us in the long run.”

The 41-year-old, who will be missing at the start of the season due to a failed fitness test, also believes that the new handball rule will be recognised by fans in the medium term. “We now have the video proof, we have the pictures, we have still images and then you see hand movements that are not natural in the sense of the rules. There will always be discussions, but even that is a process until everyone understands that everything is being reviewed.”

Aytekin would appreciate it if the referees would explain their decisions about a microphone: “For me it is no problem to explain why I have decided so and not differently. I want everyone to know what I’m doing.”

Referee colleague Patrick Ittrich told SOCCERSCORE and Goal a few weeks ago: “Sometimes you just don’t feel like it. You don’t want to stand in front of that mike and apologize.”