6 March 2023 – Recently appointed SAFA Referees Committee Chair, Victor Gomes, said the implementation of the VAR process was of the ‘highest priority’ within the football structures.
‘’It is not a question of whether it will happen but it is now a question of when will we kick-start the process,’’ said Gomes.
The esteemed referee, who hung up his whistle soon after the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, said VAR was an integral part of professionalising the sport.
He said as human beings, there will always be an element of human error but with the advent of VAR, that process would always give officials a second chance to correct the mistakes.
SAFA has already laid the foundation for the introduction VAR in South Africa’s professional game and the administrators have been in contact with CAF and FIFA. As part of this drive, SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan intends to bring in some top global officials within the refereeing world to help expedite the VAR process.
Two weeks ago at the FIFA Symposium in Paris, France, Dr Jordaan met with retired Italian referee Pierluigi Collina, who is now FIFA’s Referees Committee Chair. The Italian legend agreed to visit South Africa and help set up the VAR structures.
Collina is on record as saying football should not be left behind in using technology to wipe out human mistakes, adding that he wanted VAR interventions to be more understandable to spectators.