The Uzbekistan Professional Football League expressed a serious stance regarding situations related to refereeing and the VAR system on the country’s football fields. The League officially appealed to the Uzbekistan Football Referees Committee, demanding that certain refereeing decisions be reconsidered.
At the same time, it was reported that the Uzbekistan PFL put forward a proposal to temporarily suspend the head referee Rustam Lutfullin from all competitions, including the Super League, Pro League, and the Uzbekistan Cup.
According to the League’s leadership, the situation that occurred in the 78th minute of the match between “Kokand-1912” and “Nasaf” caused major debates. Initially, the head referee Rustam Lutfullin correctly assessed the situation and decided to continue the game. However, later the VAR referee Ibrokhim Ismoilov intervened, suggesting a review of the situation, after which the decision on the field was changed.
The Uzbekistan PFL emphasized that on the same day, the Expert Referees Group conducted a rapid analysis and noted that the call made by VAR was incorrect, and in fact, there was also an error in the head referee’s decision.
At the same time, the match between “Dynamo” and “Nasaf” from the 15th round of last season’s Super League was also recalled. In that match, Rustam Lutfullin awarded a controversial penalty to “Nasaf,” which caused criticism. However, that match was not broadcast due to a technical malfunction, and since the VAR system was also not functioning, the League did not hold the referee accountable.
The Uzbekistan PFL statement also raised the following question: if referees are making mistakes even when replay footage from different angles is available, then what is the actual function of the VAR system?
So far, no official final decision has been announced regarding this situation, but discussions among the football community are intensifying.
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