KUALA LUMPUR: KL City midfielder Brendan Gan became the first player in Malaysia to receive a red card through Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.
He was sent off during the Federal Territories Cup match against Negri Sembilan yesterday at KLFA Stadium.
Referee Zamzaidi Katimin issued the red card to Brendan for a foul against a Negri player after checking with VAR in the 76th minute.
The VAR system, managed by Tuan Yaasin Tuan Hanafiah with video replay operator Shahrizan Solihim, was used in five incidents. It led to the match being extended by 13 minutes in the first half and 10 minutes in the second half.
The first incident occurred in the 18th involving a possible penalty kick after the ball struck a Negri player's hand, but a VAR review concluded otherwise.
For the second incident in the 33rd, Zamzaidi referred to the monitor on the sideline and awarded a penalty to KL City for a foul.
VAR intervened again in the 39th by not awarding a penalty to Negri before confirming Jacque Faye's goal in the 41st minute after the player was deemed not offside.
VAR intervened in two more incidents in the second half, in the 63rd with KL City player, Lazar Sajcic, escaping with red card and the one involving Brendan in the 76th. Apart from the KL City-Negri match, seven other preseason matches also used the VAR system nation wide.
KL City won 2-1 with goals from Zhafri Yahya (22nd) and Paulo Josue's spotkick (36th) while Negri's consolation was scored by Faye (41st).