The VAR system has not worked nearly as well at this AFCON as it did at the last one in the Ivory Coast. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix They always say that if you are going to win a tournament like the Africa Cup of Nations, you need a bit of luck along the way. It is certainly fair to say that Egypt had their share of fortune and Bafana didn’t in the Pharaohs’ 1-0 Group B win over South Africa on Boxing Day.
At the last Africa Cup of Nations finals, the standard of Video Assistant Refereeing (VAR) set an extremely high standard that even the richest leagues in Europe battle to match. The Confederation of African Football, however, sacked their director of refereeing Doue Noumandiez in August. If this AFCON in Morocco is anything to go by, that was the wrong decision as VAR has come under criticism left, right and centre.
In the Bafana-Egypt game it was a tale of two penalties, one awarded to Egypt, and one not awarded to Bafana. Khuliso Mudau did catch Mohamed Salah with a stray hand to the face, but with his back to the player it was surely accidental. Then, as the clock ticked down in Agadir, referee Pacifique Ndabihawenimana awarded a free kick to Bafana on the edge of the box for a handball by Egypt defender Yasser Ahmed.
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Replays showed that the ball had struck Ahmed’s outstretched arm inside the area. VAR called the referee to the monitor. But just when it seemed Bafana were going to get a spot kick, the referee waved play on with a drop ball. The reasoning for this is that Ahmed’s arm was down on the ground in a natural position.
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