Should the PSL get a 'Video Assistant Referee' (VAR)?
A controversial match between Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns has reignited VAR talks.
Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns in action during their DStv Premiership match on 2 May 2024. Sundowns won 5-1 to seal a record seventh straight league title. Picture: @KaizerChiefs/X
Africa Melane speaks to seasoned football analyst Sizwe Mbebe.
Listen below.
Discussion around the PSL potentially introducing a 'Video Assistant Referee' (VAR) has reignited following a controversial game between Kaizer Chief and Mamelodi Sundowns over the weekend.
Sports Minister Gayton Mckenzie joined the calls for VAR, adding he would be meeting with officials.
While VAR will go a long way in assisting referees, its introduction should not be rushed, says Mbebe.
Referees in South Africa require additional investment and development before considering any technology.
“There are a lot of referees who are being accelerated into positions; they are not getting the support emotionally. I feel the referees themselves are not ready to handle these matches, with or without VAR.”
- Sizwe Mbebe, Football analyst
“The referees are way behind. Before we introduce the technology, we have to build the people.”
- Sizwe Mbebe, Football analyst
Mbebe says that even with VAR, discussions like that of the Chiefs and Sundowns game will always happen.
“It is a big problem in the [English] Premier League at the moment… There is still going to be a human error because the decision is made and suggested to another human.”
- Sizwe Mbebe, Football analyst
“[With VAR] a lot of the decisions then fall onto the referee, and we need to be careful of that as well because, at the end of the day, the referee sometimes relies on the linesman, as was the case with Chiefs and Sundowns.”
- Sizwe Mbebe, Football analyst
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the discussion.