Why VAR has yet to arrive in South African football

South African football’s long-awaited introduction of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology is being held up by a dispute over who should control the system, rather than by a lack of referee training, according to a source.

Refereeing standards in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) have continued to attract criticism, with contentious decisions regularly provoking debate among coaches, players and supporters. Disallowed goals and penalty decisions described as questionable have strengthened calls for the use of VAR in domestic football.

However, several years of political pressure, high-profile fact-finding missions and millions in allocated funding have not resulted in the technology being introduced. The delay is understood to involve a combination of logistical, financial and administrative issues.

“The delay is not due to training. Training referees to use VAR takes only six to eight weeks,” the source said.

The main obstacle, the insider claimed, is that SAFA does not currently have a league in which it can introduce the system. The only professional competition under the organisation’s control is the women’s football league.

“The PSL has no objection to VAR being introduced in its league, but it wants to control the system,” the source added.

“It wants to be responsible for introducing VAR, while SAFA says, ‘No way. We are the authority responsible for VAR in South Africa.’”

The disagreement leaves the two organisations at odds over responsibility for implementing and managing the technology in the country’s leading domestic competition.

“The biggest problem is that the other party, which is the PSL, has money, while the other does not,” the source said.

“Even if SAFA said VAR could begin tomorrow, nothing would happen if the PSL said, ‘Not in our league.’”

“That is the stumbling block,” the insider explained.

The comments come as pressure continues to grow for technological assistance to be introduced following a series of disputed decisions in the PSL. A previous report indicated that the PSL had backed the use of VAR amid criticism of officials involved in a derby.

But SAFA president Jordaan has also previously said VAR would not settle every dispute, underlining the wider debate over how the system should be used and who should oversee it.

For now, the disagreement between South Africa’s football authority and the PSL remains the central barrier. Although referee preparation could reportedly be completed within six to eight weeks, the technology cannot be deployed until the two parties resolve which organisation has final control.