VAR from the madding crowd Public outcry for video assistance to be introduced in the local game
Safa, PSL agree that video assistance is a tsunami they can’t stop
● SA football should introduce the video assistant referee (VAR) without further delay, says former referee Jerome Damon.
A raft of wrong decisions by referees have been the talk of town in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) with several incorrect calls causing not only controversy, but also affecting results.
The outcry from the public has prompted calls for VAR to be introduced in the local game.
Former Fifa and Confederation of African Football (Caf) whistleman Damon has added his voice to the debate, telling the Sunday Times that “SA has all the infrastructure and technology” to implement VAR.
And Mato Madlala and Russell Paul, acting CEOs of the PSL and the SA Football Association (Safa) respectively, agree with Damon that VAR is a tsunami they can’t stop.
Damon, now VAR training instructor for Africa under the auspices of Caf, says SA is ready for VAR given the infrastructure it has, but both the PSL and Safa said they are still doing studies to see if they can handle it.
“There shouldn’t be much of a problem introducing VAR in SA because the infrastructure, technology and tools to use it are here. We’ve seen it being used in other sports such as rugby and cricket,” said Damon.
The two-time (2004-05 and 2008-09)
PSL referee of the season reckons VAR will solve a lot of problems, not only for referees.
“It will be a win-win situation for everyone because you can’t predict human error, but if you have the tools to correct it, why not use it?” asked Damon.
“It will not only save the referees’ jobs, but coaches and players will also benefit and in the end the fans will be happy.”
But Damon, 47, tasked by Fifa early this year to implement VAR in Caf competitions, made it clear that the process of implementing VAR takes up to two years of planning.
Two years
“There are a lot of logistics to sort out before the implementation of VAR and it takes two years to be ready,” said Damon.
“The infrastructure has to be tested, there’s training of people and the whole thing has to be independent of the broadcaster/s for it to be fair to everyone.”
Both Madlala and Paul could not say when they will be ready to roll out VAR despite agreeing it was necessary.
“The timing; I can’t give an indication; obviously the sooner the better. But (the delay) is related to infrastructure and cost,” said Paul.
“We’re discussing the matter with Fifa who have indicated that they are prepared to make some kind of investment. We’re just trying to evaluate that kind of investment. It’s not a cheap option and every country will be different.”
Sent people
Madlala said the PSL has already sent people to some European countries as part of their plan to introduce VAR in SA.
“We’ve started a project where we’re investigating and doing our own comparisons on how to implement VAR,” said Madlala, who highlighted that the PSL clubs not owning stadiums was part of the challenge.
“We’re exploring different options and looking at what other countries have done. We’ll obviously engage Safa after finishing our investigation on the possibilities of implementing in SA.
“We’ll only go to the mother body once we are comfortable with the results.”
Several dubious decisions by match officials in PSL matches has seen a number of club coaches frustrated and calling for VAR, among other solutions.
“We also want to move with the times,” added Madlala. “We started last season to investigate the possibility of VAR in the PSL. So it’s not because of the recent incidents involving referees. Our challenges are that we don’t own venues as PSL clubs.
“We’re at the mercy of stadium owners. We’re not like clubs in England where they own stadiums. But VAR is the way to go.”