SINGAPORE – A signal loss for a video feed resulted in the referee being unable to view footage of an incident on a VAR (video assistant referee) pitchside monitor during a Singapore Cup tie on Monday, said the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).
This happened during a group game between Tanjong Pagar United and Hougang United at the Jurong East Stadium, where the Jaguars eventually triumphed 2-1.
The incident took place in the 84th minute. With the score at 1-1, Hougang forward Hazzuwan Halim and Tanjong Pagar goalkeeper Kenji Rusydi were involved in a collision inside the penalty box which led to both players requiring treatment.
Referee Clarence Leow initially awarded a corner to Hougang, but was subsequently recommended by VAR to conduct an on-field review of the incident.
After looking at the monitor screen, Leow signalled for a woman, believed to be a technical crew member, to come over. She was then seen aiming what looked like a remote control at the screen several times for about a minute.
Leow was unable to watch the incident footage, the FAS confirmed on Tuesday.
The Cheetahs, who were clamouring for a penalty, showed signs of confusion when told about the technical glitch by Leow, who stuck to his initial decision to award a corner.
Tanjong Pagar then scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time through an own goal by Kazuma Takayama to clinch a late 2-1 win. Earlier, Takayama had levelled proceedings after Pedro Dias gave the Jaguars a first-half lead.
Hougang coach Marko Kraljevic told The Straits Times on Tuesday: “I don’t know what actually happened, I was not given any explanation. I only heard (Leow) talk to the players. What I overheard was that the VAR wasn’t working.”
An Hougang player, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “It’s very frustrating that technical errors caused a direct impact on the outcome of the match.”
In response to ST’s queries, Abhishek Ravikrishnan, FAS Lead (Content and Production), said: “The monitor screen located within the Referee Review Area (RRA) in Jurong East Stadium had experienced a loss in signal for the video feed from the Video Operator Room in Jalan Besar Stadium.
“This signal loss resulted in the referee being unable to view the specific incident on the RRA monitor and, hence, he maintained his decision to award a corner.”
When asked for the standard operating procedure for referees in cases like this, FAS director of referees Nazeer Hussain said: “In the event of a system malfunction, both competing teams will be promptly notified, and the match will continue without VAR intervention, following normal procedures.
“(The signal loss) resulted in the referee being unable to conduct a video review of this incident. Consequently, the referee upheld the initial decision to award a corner. Following this decision, the referee informed both teams of the malfunction situation and the decision which he upheld.”
Nazeer, who said the match will not be “invalidated”, added: “I regret that this incident has had an unfavourable impact on Hougang United with regard to the outcome of the match, and I will be reaching out to Hougang personally.”
Abhishek said: “To enhance greater system reliability, we are taking steps to introduce an additional signal pathway for referees on an alternative monitor, aiming to prevent future disruptions in match officiation.”
VAR was first introduced to Singapore football in 2023 to help on-field referees review incidents of “clear and obvious errors”.
Similar cases of VAR malfunctioning have occurred elsewhere, including in the A-League grand final in 2018 during which a software glitch meant the referee could not watch the broadcast feed, resulting in a goal wrongly awarded.
