Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie is facing renewed criticism over delays to introducing Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology in South African football, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) accusing him of refusing to take responsibility for the project.
Leah Potgieter MP, the DA’s spokesperson on Sport, Arts and Culture, said McKenzie had failed to explain the delay and had effectively abandoned his commitment to bring VAR to domestic football.
The criticism follows a media briefing at which McKenzie reportedly said: “There are no more questions you can ask me about VAR.”
Potgieter said the minister’s comments appeared to leave the project almost entirely in the hands of the South African Football Association (SAFA).
The DA has also questioned the reported R20 million allocated to the initiative. The party claims the money remains with SAFA, while little progress has been made towards putting the technology in place.
Potgieter said McKenzie could not separate himself from the project because a commitment had been made and public funds had been assigned to it.
“Unfortunately for Minister McKenzie, he can’t wash his hands of it. A commitment was made, and public money was allocated,” she said.
The party criticised what it described as a lack of accountability from the minister, saying football supporters and players had been left waiting for an improvement that had been promised.
VAR enables match officials to review specific incidents, including goals, penalty decisions, direct red-card offences and cases involving mistaken identity.
The possible introduction of the system in South Africa has been a major subject of discussion among supporters, particularly as refereeing decisions in domestic competitions continue to generate debate.
Potgieter accused McKenzie of making public commitments without showing enough progress towards fulfilling them. She said South African football supporters were entitled to clear answers about the reasons for the delay and the future of the project.
The DA’s statement has increased pressure on both the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and SAFA to explain the current position of the VAR rollout.
It also called into question how the allocated funds are being used and what work remains before the technology can be introduced into South African football.
No revised implementation date was provided in the statement.
The unresolved issues include when VAR will become operational and what accountability measures will govern the project. McKenzie’s reported comments and the DA’s response have revived questions over who is responsible for delivering the technology and ensuring that the public money allocated to the initiative leads to tangible progress.
