SAFA Head of Referees Abdul Ebrahim has responded to reports of a stumbling block in the implementation of the Video Assistant Referee technology in the PSL.
There were initially question marks on who would be responsible for the implementation of the VAR in South Africa, with the PSL run independently from SAFA, the mother body.
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Indications are that with regards to VAR, an instrument that is under the authority of FIFA, the League and SAFA have formed a joint liaison committee, who have been tasked with implementing the technology.
However, the VAR rollout requires funding and there are already reports that the PSL and SAFA joint liaison committee has reached out to the Motsepe Foundation to bail them out with a figure reaching R30 million to make the review technology a reality in top-flight football.
This website has been led to believe that insofar as the planning is concerned, everything is in place for the rollout, but what is standing in the way is the funding.
Information from our sources is that the reason why the joint liaison committee reached out to the Motsepe Foundation for financial help is that SAFA, who are primarily responsible for VAR rollout after getting the greenlight from FIFA, do not have the necessary funds to kick-start the process.
However, the implementation of the VAR has become a priority in the PSL corridors for this current season, hence the two organizations have to find a way to fund the process.
Ebrahim confirmed that they have already submitted their proposals and what needs to be done to implement VAR. However, he could not comment on the funding aspect.
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"With regards to funding, I cannot really comment," Ebrahim said when queried by KickOff on funding details.
"We were asked from refereeing to submit the proposal as to what is required, which is what we did. Obviously, the committee needs to decide and confirm, but with regards to funding, unfortunately I'm not in a position to comment because I don't know anything about it."