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Cape Town — After four seasons of unprecedented gloom in which glamour South African soccer club Kaizer Chiefs failed to annex a single major title, the Amakhosi right now have eased the pain of their anguished supporters by topping the Absa Premiership log table.
Lamentably, however, it is at this time due to a large extent to glaring linesmen blunders which have enabled Chiefs to win their last two Absa Premiership matches against AmaZulu (2-0) and Baroka (1-0) and add six valuable points to their revived tally and ease ahead of Bidvest Wits and Mamelodi Sundowns, in particular by four and five points, but with both these teams having two matches in hand.
It is a situation which highlights in no small measure how the PSL is dragging its heels in implementing VAR technology, which is spreading around the world and would surely have corrected the significant decisions of the erring linesmen.
In Chiefs’ game against Usuthu a battling AmaZulu had the ball in the net twice with the teams locked at 0-0, but what should have been legitimate goals were vetoed by the mistakes of the flawed line official. With a 2-0 lead late into the second half and holding their own in the exchanges in Durban it is unlikely AmaZulu would have lost the match and so eased what are already uneasy relegation problems at this early juncture of the season.
Against Baroka, Amakhosi’s solitary winning goal was scored from what was clearly an off-side position — again leaving the unfortunate losers without a point from their gallant performance.
And so where were the technological Video Assistant Referees (VAR) to rectify what amounted to rank injustices?
Ask the PSL hierarchy, which seems more absorbed in devoting attention to matters like publicising its Reserve League under the guise of what is called the Diski Challenge instead of doing everything possible to eliminate referees and linesmen errors at the top level.
Admittedly, VAR would require a substantial financial outlay to put into practice, but if other countries are finding it an essential proposition there is no reason why it should not be implemented in South Africa.
And if the PSL is doing well in one particular area because of massive sponsorships and payments from the likes of Multichoice, VAR is an advancement that should be happening right here.
In the meantime, before this vital function is put into practice, the Referees’ Association should be taking action against their flawed officials.
After all, when players perform unreasonably badly they are dropped as a consequence. So what about the poorly performing referees and linesman suffering a similar fate?
Absa Premiership fixtures
Today: Maritzburg United v Baroka FC (Harry Gwala Stadium 19:30), Polokwane City v Stellenbosch (Old Peter Mokaba Stadium 19:30), Black Leopards v Mamelodi Sundowns (Thohoyandou Stadium 19:30). — Sport24.
Online Reporter