Gayton McKenzie, South Africa's sports minister, and Abdul Ebrahim, head of referees for the South African Football Association (SAFA), have been embroiled in a heated dispute over the use of video assistant referees (VARs) in domestic football matches. Never one to hold back an opinion, Minister McKenzie has been very outspoken about how South African football has to be modernized. In 2024, after a contentious match between Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs rekindled long-standing worries about refereeing standards in the Premier Soccer League (PSL), his call for VAR reached a crescendo.
At the time, McKenzie was very forthright in his statement, saying, "We need VAR and we need it now," in which he vented his fury with what he seen as antiquated methods subverting the legitimacy of South African football. His addition of the words "We are not a tenth-world country" demonstrated his resolve to advocate for the sport's technological improvement. McKenzie even officially pledged that VAR would be implemented by April 2025. In order to alleviate SAFA's financial load, he said that the government was willing to assist with the initiative's financing, even going so far as to pay a deposit and recruit sponsors.
The projected operational expenses for VAR are R70,000 each match, and the original cost is roughly R70 to R80 million, according to him. Although McKenzie's claims sparked enthusiasm among football fans and certain members of the community, SAFA authorities reacted with caution, if not outright skepticism. In response, Abdul Ebrahim, who is responsible for ensuring the honesty and fairness of the country's referees, poured cold water on McKenzie's timeline. The path to VAR, in his opinion, is considerably more intricate than merely writing a check. I agree that the minister has spoken up boldly.
Ebrahim clarified that VAR isn't a plug-and-play system. "Executive rollout of the system is contingent upon the availability of highly qualified referees, technicians, and extensive testing." Furthermore, he mentioned that SAFA has recently received approval to initiate the process of creating a comprehensive budget and technological roadmap, which may extend for at least a few months. The most pressing issue, according to Ebrahim, is capacity; there isn't enough qualified referees and technical personnel in South Africa to run VAR procedures according to FIFA regulations.
There has been much consternation and controversy due to the discrepancy between the Minister's assured statements and the boss of the referees' realistic evaluations. Although some worry that McKenzie may oversimplify a complicated technical procedure, others see his assertiveness as an essential shakeup in a staid system. There is a mounting suspicion that McKenzie's ambition may have outpaced the practical considerations as time passes beyond April, the date by which he had pledged to implement VAR.
The implementation of video assistant referees in South African football is currently in a precarious position, plagued by both political pledges and institutional obstacles. Fans and players alike are crossing their fingers that the two factions can quickly come to an agreement that will level the playing field domestically and bring a little bit of international standardization, clarity, and fairness to the game.
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