The enormous stakes in football mean that the margins have become tinier. The tiniest of errors could have a massive impact on the outcome of matches. The search for a means of reducing errors to a minimum gave birth to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
The success of the project so far is up for debate, but the clamour for VAR remains.
There have been calls for the implementation of the VAR in South African football, and the chairman of the Premier Soccer League (PSL), Irvin Khoza, has had to address it.
Following the controversial decisions made during the penalty shootout in the MTN8 game between Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns, the VAR debate has again come to the fore.
While the hue and cry that followed that game is yet to die, Xhosa has tried to temper the fans expectations. Xhosa warned that while it would be a good development for the game, it’s not something that can be brought about by magic. He reiterated that there are cost implications to making it happen.
According to Khoza, the VAR comprises certain elements, and implementation will be done in phases.
“There are certain elements of the VAR system, one of them are the video assistant referee, virtual offside line and goal-line technology. Now is the issue of phasing it, which comes first,” Khoza said on Tuesday.
“Are there issues with goal-line problems we need to address first or is it off-sides? But like I said last time, it’s a question of doing an audit about the infrastructure. If this VAR is going to be centrally controlled or decentralized.”
Khoza agrees that the implementation of the technology holds benefits to the PSL. It will also go a long way to resolve some of the heated debates that come from officiating in South African football. “It’s a good thing to do in enhancing the product and making sure that technically we are sound and make sure that people are satisfied. Although some people are not satisfied in Europe [about VAR] because when you see the millimetres judgement of the offside line, the naked eye can’t see, it gets people irritated sometimes,” Khoza explained.