Former FIFA referee pinpoints technology which could be more realistic option for Irish League than VAR

Sunday’s BetMcLean Cup final between Linfield and Glentoran will mark the first use of VAR in a professional match in Northern Ireland.

VAR is in place across Europe, including in the Premier League and Scottish Premiership, but the full package comes with significant costs and technology requirements.

When VAR was rolled out in Scotland, it was reported that it would cost approximately £1.2million per season with the 12 top-flight clubs paying on a sliding scale depending on league position.

With that price deemed too expensive by many associations, FIFA have developed FVS – a system which allows each manager to make up to two review requests per match and can be used with only four cameras.

This season, the Malta FA have trialled FVS in their Jubilee Cup competition and it has also been tested in Italy and Spain.

FIFA referees' chief Pierluigi Collina has hinted that FVS will be rolled out across further countries, saying in February: "It is probable that in the next weeks we will open the possibility to join the trial for the next season to member association and competition organisers.”

Snoddy, who refereed at two World Cups, is in favour of introducing technology assistance for Sunday’s final and believes these systems can help improve the overall product.

"It's a massive help to the game...it helps referees get the right decision, which helps the game and result,” he said. "You can't start with one camera in a normal Irish League match, you need a minimum number of cameras, so now is the chance when we have more than what we need to implement it.

"Realistically, Football Video Support is the most likely route for the Irish League, that's the least expensive and doesn't need a VAR and AVAR.

"Malta implemented it a couple of months ago...I was there just after it was implemented for a seminar and the clubs seem to be quite happy with how it is working.

"Let's say there's an incident in the penalty area, the manager is looking to his players for their view on whether to appeal a decision, and most times they're saying to play on. That was an interesting angle to it.

"It involves a referee coming to a laptop at the side of the pitch and watching the replay. You can get away with a few cameras for that, it would require four.

"When you have less cameras, a mistake is really clear – it's when you start fiddling about with different angles, slowing things down, pausing...it gets more difficult.

"Different angles show different pictures and it can cause delays. Let's see what happens."