A week after Kaizer Chiefs’ controversial loss to Mamelodi Sundowns in late September, Stellenbosch FC were the next unfortunate victims of a refereeing mishap.
The introduction of VAR must happen now!
What happened in the MTN8 final?
In the dying minutes of the MTN8 final, Orlando Pirates were allowed to continue play following a foul that occurred metres away from where the restart was taken.
The final, which was first ignited by an audacious Lehlohonolo Mojela bicycle kick in the 12th minute, was 1-1 at the time, and looked likely to fizzle out to extra-time.
Until, in the 90th minute, Patrick Maswanganyi was brought down outside the box, following which, Relebohile Mofokeng restarted play, and delivered an inch-perfect pass to Tshegofatso Mabasa who then rifled his shot pass the ‘keeper.
The problem surrounding this instance was that after the referee blew his whistle, prompting the Stellenbosch defenders to stop play, Mofokeng, who was a few metres closer to the goal than the Maswanganyi challenge, sent a through ball to the eventual scorer, Mabasa.
Soccer law states that play must begin where the foul occurred.
In this case, it didn’t.
Steve Barker’s comments after the game
Stellenbosch FC head coach, Steve Barker, said post-match: “I’m not sure, I think there had been at some stage a point that they were looking to target the final – this one – to implement VAR, but unfortunately they did not.
“But it just seems like there’s far too many big calls that are not going the right way, and I think the intervention of VAR will help.
“Refs are human, I don’t think the refs go and purposefully make the mistake, it’s just that a lot’s happening, it’s the 90th minute of a cup final, they take a quick free-kick, he suddenly looks, it’s a goal.
“He’s got that decision to make – do I let it stand, do I not let it stand? He’s elected to let the goal stand, so [sigh] – VAR intervention, I believe, would have said, ‘Listen, re-take, re-start, it wasn’t taken at the right place, you were still speaking to the players.’
“He hadn’t even seen what happened, hopefully sanity would have prevailed and we would have had, maybe, an interesting extra-time [period],”
The potential ramifications of no VAR
Midst a worldwide adoption of VAR, the Betway Premiership is one of few leagues yet to introduce it.
How can one of Africa’s biggest leagues not introduce soccer’s latest technology? The effects have been more prevalent now than ever.
Simply put, the winner of a cup final shouldn’t and cannot be decided by illegal play – VAR is the answer to ensuring fair play resumes.
If South African football wants to be taken more seriously amongst its peers, it must act now; otherwise, it risks falling behind (further) on a global stage.
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