Ministry of Sports can only 'afford the cheapest and the most sustainable' VAR in PSL as government 'don't have to invest too much' in technology-aided officiating system

Senior advisor to the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, Charles Cilliers has explained why the public internet version of the VAR is best for the Premier Soccer League.

Cilliers is part of the delegation that travelled to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) headquarters in Spain for a familiarisation trip, and in his view, the public internet version of the VAR is the best option for the South African top flight.  

"This was a trip that came up spontaneously. We heard about Daniel Bennett and his team, and then we met with him. We were here in April with the director general and the CFO of the department; the minister was here, and we were lucky enough to actually see some of the facilities," Cilliers told SABC Sports.

"It's expanded since then, and we are very excited since it's the second wave of VAR; it's a new kind of technology, and it's working off the cellphone networks, public internet basically," he added.

"It's going to work very well for us in South Africa if we can go with this option right now. Daniel and his team are looking at the different possibilities, but we're looking for what can be the fastest, the cheapest, and the most sustainable for us so that we don't have to invest too much in our infrastructure and we can get this thing up and running in the shortest amount of time."

Cilliers has stated that the government will not dictate how the whole thing is going to be implemented, as that is a mandate to be undertaken by SAFA. However, the minister's adviser has cautioned that there is less money for the implementation of this project.

"With the money we have, which we know is not a lot, we have to do more with less, but South Africans are good at doing that, right? So that's why we're here," Cilliers stated further.

"Look, I think we're going to be led in large parts by Daniel and his team because they are the experts, they are the refs, and they are the ones that are talking to the right people," he added.

"So, it's not for us to dictate how this has to happen exactly; we are there to support, as I said, to be a catalyst and to make sure that there is enough momentum and to make sure that they get this over the line. That's what we expect." 

Cilliers' revelation comes a day after Bennett cautioned against VAR lite, saying the system won't support PSL.

"When I get back on Monday, I will have an urgent meeting, because on Tuesday, there will be a portfolio meeting with VAR, likely to be one of the key points of the discussion, and so all of our ducks have to be in a row for that meeting,” Bennet said on Sunday. 

"We need the full VAR. VAR Lite is just a lighter version of the full offering, requiring only four cameras. That system won't support our league; the PSL needs full VAR, and what we saw yesterday at Quality Media was a very good system that is going to go into our melting pot. Now it's all about working out costing and budgeting,” he concluded.

In order to improve the level of officiating in the league, calls for VAR implementation have only become louder.  

The need to implement the technology-aided refereeing has been urgent, given questionable decisions that have always led to controversies, with some coaches alleging bias by referees.