The raging Safa-PSL VAR clash may need VAR itself

Chaotic parliament briefing betrays old rivalries in football

- Kgomotso Mokoena

While there should have been ululations and celebrations that VAR (video assistant referee) is finally coming to local football, there were instead verbal punch-ups and tackles from behind between a Safa delegation and members of parliamet's portfolio committee on sport, arts and culture this past week.

This happened after Premier Soccer League (PSL) chairman Irvin Khoza requested the chairperson of the committee, Joseph McGluwa, to allow for the league to leave the meeting since they were not armed with enough information regarding developments around the introduction of VAR in Mzansi.

Simply put, the league's position was that they have not been engaged and that they did not want to shoot in the dark when answering questions from the portfolio committee members.

If this did not embarrass Safa, nothing ever will. The PSL will be the consumers of VAR, but the chairman says they are in the dark about it.

Said Khoza: "Where we are as the league it is difficult to make a contribution in this meeting... there are one or two outstanding issues and information that we have not received yet.