EDITORIAL | This has gone too VAR: African football must keep its refs in check

Where to now for our beloved Bafana Bafana?

Hugo Broos, a 69-year-old Belgian who was an unlikely candidate for the job in May, revived our hopes for Bafana — right up until almost everything came to naught on Sunday night.

Well, almost because there’s still hope that Bafana can get justice from Fifa and Confederation of African Football (Caf) with regard to the manner in which they lost 1-0 to Ghana in the World Cup qualifier at the Cape Coast Stadium.

All Bafana needed in that game was a draw to take their unbeaten run to four successive victories and two draws to make the final play-offs, which will produce five teams to represent Africa in next year’s World Cup in Qatar.

Bafana’s defeat on Sunday saw them leapfrogged by Ghana on goal difference, a result many South Africans feel was only due to the actions of an overzealous Senegalese referee Maguette Ndiaye and his two assistants Djibril Camara and Daouda Gueye, who awarded the hosts a very questionable penalty in the first half.

Safa CEO Teboho Motlanthe has justifiably not wasted any time appealing to both Fifa and Caf to review the referee’s conduct in the match. The association wants the match to be replayed at a neutral venue, with obviously different match officials.

There’s a possibility that Safa’s wish may be granted, but it’s not that simple.

Senegal had a similar situation in a 2018 World Cup qualifier in November 2016, ironically against SA. The 2-1 result in favour of SA was overturned when it was ruled that Bafana had won with a dubious penalty call by a Ghanaian referee, Joseph Lamptey.

Lamptey was banned for life after being found guilty of match manipulation. It was established he was making decisions on behalf of Asian betting syndicates.

Ndiaye’s case will also go beyond what happened on the field. The investigation should go as far as who the match officials interacted with before the crucial encounter, and it must be proven that they went to Sunday’s match set to produce a certain outcome, to benefit someone in one way or the other.

There’s a possibility that Safa’s wish may be granted, but it’s not that simple.

The question has to be asked: why is the use of VAR (video assistant refereeing) technology almost non-existent in African football?

There’s no question that Caf, of all Fifa’s affiliates, should be using VAR the most, to expose and deal with the shenanigans of the “Ndiayes” on the spot.

Fifa and Caf have to speed up the introduction of VAR, and it will be a failure on behalf of both organisations if African countries go into the 2026 World Cup qualifiers without it.

Caf have to find a way. Just as they do when there’s a Caf Champions League final. It can’t end in that final, because if this is not done, human error, deliberate or not, will continue to impair Africa’s game and results.

If Safa fail to get the result against Ghana reversed, a great revival of the team’s fortunes by a wily coach Broos will come to an abrupt end. Bafana have not been all over their opponents like the team of 1996, but Broos has managed to get the results, using mostly new and young players, soon after taking over.

Yes, Bafana were also not dominant against Ghana, but the least they deserved was a draw, which would have been enough for them to go to the decisive playoffs.

We hope, no matter the outcome of the Safa appeal, Broos will continue with his main goal, to produce a good team for the 2023 and 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and 2026 World Cup. That process can’t be derailed by the likes of Ndiaye, who have been given a loophole to do whatever they want by Caf and Fifa, by failing to introduce VAR on the continent.

As we wait for Fifa and Caf’s call on the match, we urge Broos to keep focus and continue to find players to strengthen his team as there are many big battles ahead, whether we win this Ghana match or not.

Bafana’s future can’t be defined by one result. There’s a lot more work to do on this Bafana team.