Can’t see it in front of me – Sydsvenskan

Swedish Football Association chairman Fredrik Reinfeldt backs down on the issue of VAR in Swedish football.

The resistance is too great.

– That’s why we didn’t bring forward any proposal about VAR to the previous board of representatives meeting and I don’t foresee it going forward either, says Reinfeldt to Aftonbladet.

Last summer, the confederation’s chairman said in an interview with SVT that he believed that VAR will also become a reality in Swedish football and that it is “quite obviously the future of football” in general.

– I guess I have to stand for it then: I think this is our future, said Reinfeldt.

He was then asked when we will have the video referee system introduced in Sweden.

– It depends on when there are enough of us and enough of us to see it in place, Reinfeldt told SVT.

Swedish football is not there at the moment, the confederation’s base tells Aftonbladet.

– If I counted correctly, we have eighteen elite clubs and two districts that have said they do not want to introduce VAR. We respect that. That’s why we didn’t bring forward any proposal about VAR to the previous board of representatives meeting and I don’t foresee it going forward either, says Reinfeldt to Aftonbladet.

He is asked if he is adamant that VAR is the future of Swedish football.

– I stand by respecting the democratic rules of the game. There was then a discussion about the possibility of developing requirements for this from Uefa. I don’t think so now, with what I’ve heard. Then it is up to us to make the decisions. Then it is clear how it looks right now, he says.

And what does it look like right now?

– That the clubs and decisions we have do not want the introduction of this specific technology.

The question of VAR in Swedish football has been a very hot potato lately. Many clubs are against an introduction in Swedish football. When the Brommapojkarna played their home premiere in this year’s Allsvenskan, the visiting AIK supporter groups chose to boycott the match.

The reason? Among other things, that BP went against the other Stockholm clubs at the Stockholm Football Association’s annual meeting in the matter of VAR in the Allsvenskan.

Many Allsvenskan players have also clearly shown their dissatisfaction with VAR, including Djurgården’s Magnus Eriksson.

– I have had VAR in MLS. From my own experience, I don’t think it promotes football. There are many points that can go wrong. It becomes artificial in so many ways. It takes time and it upsets, he told TT before the season.