Safa president Danny Jordaan calls for use of VAR in the PSL

05 July 2022 - 10:51
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SA Football Association President Danny Jordaan during at a press conference at Sandton Convention Centre on June 25 2022.
SA Football Association President Danny Jordaan during at a press conference at Sandton Convention Centre on June 25 2022.
Image: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images

SA Football Association president Danny Jordaan has reiterated the urgency of introducing video assistant referee (VAR) in the country for the Premier Soccer League (PSL) to be in line with top leagues around the world.

VAR, where a trained assistant referee views slow-motion action replays on-screen to help the on-field referee make the appropriate decision, has been used in major leagues around the world for a few years.

VAR was first used at the Fifa World Cup in 2018 in Russia and more major tournaments have followed suit in using this system that has seen its fair share of controversy.

While most of the leagues around the world are using the system, the PSL has lagged behind in introducing it and the Safa president says it is time to implement it.

“We have to introduce VAR, we have to as a country,” Jordaan said.

“There are a number of issues and one is the commercialisation of SA football, the second is digitalisation, harmonisation and integration of technology in preparation of our national teams.

“Those are some of the major issues that we have discussed [with PSL chair Irvin Khoza] and we will continue discussing them.”

Some PSL referees who officiate at international tournaments have said that the delay in introducing VAR domestically in SA sometimes works against them as they are not used to the system.

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