‘We ask Treasury to shift money to SAFA for VAR’ – Gayton

Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie has requested the National Treasury to allocate funds to the South African Football Association for the implementation of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system.

For over a year, McKenzie has been promising to introduce VAR to help minimise mistakes in South African top-flight football.

Last year, he announced that R80 million had been set aside for the project. However, in his latest update, McKenzie revealed that no money has been reserved for VAR.

Gayton McKenzie says no VAR this season

“We are also finalising the process of funding VAR to ensure that football matches, from the Premier Soccer League through to the international fixtures we host, are fairer and meet global standards,” McKenzie told the parliament this week.

“It is a necessity. We see stadiums vandalised when bad refereeing happens, and the success of teams like Mamelodi Sundowns makes global teams want to play here.

“But they get second thoughts because we don’t have VAR,” he concluded.

Earlier this year, Gayton promised football fans that VAR would be implemented in April, with a budget of R80 million set to be allocated.

“We could never pay for VAR without budget having been passed, that would have been corruption. We are in the process of asking Treasury to shift money to SAFA according to our budget. VAR is coming. The money is available,” McKenzie wrote on on X (Twitter) on Friday.

Football fans were not happy with Gayton’s latest statement, feeling that the minister had misled the nation when he ‘promised VAR in April’.

“Different tune every week. Just simple tell us if PSL will have VAR this season or not? Why Bafana Bafana national sponsor Castle and HONOR come on board to sponsor VAR like what FNB do to rugby, they are behind TMO,” tweeted @mminakgomotrevo.

“Instead of taking responsibility, you’re shifting the blame. It’s a good thing that the budget wasn’t approved. YOU said we would have VAR this season and didn’t mention this budget part,” tweeted @baahlemsweli.

“VAR we won’t use it this season, bafo, Gayton lied to us,” @peterbroggs tweeted.