A document analysis of VAR implementation and referee decision-making in Malaysian professional football
Abstract
Football is one of the most widely followed sports in the world, and decisions made by referees have
a direct influence on match results, perceptions of fairness, and the credibility of officiating. The Video
Assistant Referee (VAR) system was introduced to improve decision-making accuracy and fairness
by assisting referees in cases of clear and obvious errors. However, despite its implementation in
Malaysian professional football, concerns persist regarding decision consistency, referee authority,
and the effectiveness of VAR procedures. This study aims to examine VAR implementation in
Malaysian professional football by analysing official documents such as match reports, VAR records,
regulations, and governing guidelines. The analysis focuses exclusively on secondary data sources,
including official match reports, VAR review records, regulatory documents, and officiating
guidelines related to VAR implementation in Malaysian professional football. This study employs
document analysis as the primary research instrument. The instruments consist of a structured
document analysis checklist and coding framework developed to systematically examine VAR
implementation and referee decision-making in Malaysian professional football. Official match
reports issued by the Malaysian Football League (MFL) for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 Malaysia League
seasons, which typically range from 2 to 5 pages per match and provide formal records of match
incidents, disciplinary actions, and referee decisions. In addition, VAR review records and post-match
referee assessment reports produced by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) were examined
to evaluate decision outcomes, review processes, and referee performance feedback. Data analysis in
this study involves a systematic review of selected documents related to VAR implementation and
referee decision-making in Malaysian professional football. Official match reports, VAR records,
referee assessment reports, and competition regulations are analysed using a structured document
analysis checklist and coding framework based on the Laws of the Game and VAR protocol. VAR
incidents are coded according to incident type, review procedure, nature of decision, and final
outcome, allowing patterns to be identified and decision consistency and procedural alignment to be
evaluated.
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Authors
Copyright (c) 2026 Widiya Habibah Shamsuri, Muhammad Faizal Kutip, Adanan Jamal, Nurul Ain Md Desa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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