CLASS of 96 legend Mark Fish says having Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is the only solution that will solve the dubious decisions that shattered Bafana Bafana’s dream of qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Qatar.
The Senegalese referee made a controversial decision that saw Ghana awarded a penalty converted by Andre Ayew to advance to the play-off stage on better goal difference, as the two countries are tied on 13 points.
Said Fish: “It’s difficult. We can see effort shown by the players throughout the qualifiers. It’s disappointing that Ghana had a penalty that never looked like a penalty.
“This has forfeited Bafana players a chance to qualify. We can only imagine what the coach and players are going through. Why are we not having VAR in qualifying rounds?
“I am not saying it’s perfect, but it can assist referees to make better decisions.”
Fish, who was part of the 1996 squad that lifted the Africa Nations Cup trophy, doubts that Bafana will win their protest to overturn the results.
“They (Safa) launched a protest, but I doubt if Fifa will overturn it. Two weeks ago there was an incident in a game between AmaZulu and Kaizer Chiefs, where the referee made a controversial decision.
“The referee got suspended, but the results remained. The PSL must be front runners and have VAR to set the standard for the rest of the continent.”
Fish said he feels for the players as they would have rubbed shoulders against the best players in Europe.
“It’s difficult because as Africans we want to compete against teams from Europe. I was part of the Caf delegation in 2020 looking at the stadiums that will be able to host the World Cup. But if we want to compete, the officiating must be of the same standard.”
His teammate and former Bafana goalkeeper Andre Arendse said: “I was impressed with Bafana’s qualifying programme. They played quality football and I felt they were the best in the group. It was heart breaking in the manner which they got out of the competition. It was never a penalty, not in a million years. They were hard done by the referee’s decision.”
Arendse said lack of clear camera vision on the incident that led the referee to award the penalty could be the only stumbling block standing on Bafana’s way to win their complaint.
“My only concern is that there is no concrete angle camera showing the incident, if it’s there we can win the protest,” he said.
