What if Sweden’s unique position in terms of VAR was emulated in Europe? While in France, the use of this technology has sparked several controversies recently, Sweden has decided to no longer equip itself with this video refereeing assistance system in its elite championships.
In the columns of the daily Aftonbladet, as well as in the Times on Thursday, Fredrik Reinfeldt, the president of the Swedish Football Federation (and former Prime Minister of Sweden), announced his intention to no longer use VAR in professional championships Swedish.
And this in accordance with the wishes of the vast majority of Swedish first and second division clubs.
Swedish FA will not adopt VAR after feedback from clubs and fans, reports Aftonbladet newspaper.
They say no pressure has been placed on them to adopt VAR by UEFA.https://t.co/UVGnBf3qpa— Marc Webber (@marcwebber) April 25, 2024
“We will not present a request to the body responsible for applying new technologies due to the opposition of our clubs, this in full respect of the democratic rules which govern our football movement,” adds Reinfeldt. We will therefore not use VAR and I am not considering it for the future either. »
“Eighteen elite clubs” as well as “two districts” opposed VAR, says Reinfeldt, emphasizing if it was necessary that Sweden is currently “the only country among the 30 highest ranked leagues in Europe” to opt for this position.
The president of the Swedish Federation also said that already last year the Swedish clubs had already “actively opposed” the introduction of this technology to aid refereeing and that, therefore, their position remained unchanged.
However, Reinfeldt had personally spoken out in favor of the introduction of VAR, citing that it was “the future of the game”. Today, he explains that his position was dictated by the fact that he thought that UEFA was going to impose VAR on each member of the European confederation. However, that was not the case.
