KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 — The Malaysian Football League (MFL) agrees with the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) initiative to introduce the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in local competitions next season.

MFL chief executive officer Stuart Ramalingam said the implementation of the VAR system was not only to meet the demands of the game but also to fulfil the requests of players and fans.

However, he said VAR was not a total solution for issues of refereeing and efforts needed to be stepped up to improve the standard of match officials in the country.

"In the English Premier League there are still issues with VAR, and in the coming World Cup there will also be. That is where I believe FAM is also taking a very proactive measure in terms of referees’ improvement.

"So apart from study and implementation of VAR, we also need to improve programmes to strengthen referees in terms of decisions on the field because VAR doesn’t decide on everything in a match,” he added.

He said this at a press conference at the launch of a special stamp collection in conjunction with Malaysia Cup 2022 by Pos Malaysia and MFL at the Kuala Lumpur General Post Office today.

For the 16-team Super League 2023, Stuart hoped that the performance of referees would reflect the transformation undertaken to improve the standard of local football.

"In general, I believe that the refereeing standard in Malaysia is fair. But for sure there is room for improvement,” he said.

Yesterday, FAM expressed their readiness to introduce VAR in Malaysia League 2023 competitions, with the FA Cup and Malaysia Cup serving as venues for trying out the system, especially at the semi-final and final stages.

Meanwhile, Pos Malaysia and MFL issued the limited edition Malaysia Cup 2022 Setem Ku set featuring several selected players to honour all competing clubs.

It comes with three envelopes, three postcards and a specially designed folder set with a serial number. A total of 1,800 folder sets are available for sale at RM45 each.

It can be purchased online through www.pos.com.my/shop or at the Kuala Lumpur General Post Office Stamp & Philately Counter beginning tomorrow. Sales at 13 general post offices nationwide will begin on November 14. — Bernama