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The use of VAR (Video Assistance Referred) in a local competition is a first in Africa. The first full-scale test was attempted in the last two matches of the Throne Cup. The leaders of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation have emphasized the contribution of this technology in the competition arbitration.
To apply it to all matches of the national championship, it will be necessary to complete the training process. After a call for tenders, it is media-prod that was chosen to carry out this operation in Morocco. According to Jamal Al Kaououachi, chairman of the Central Arbitration Commission, which oversees this project, the training of the referees was completed on December 15.
At the end of this process, Morocco had 24 referees who had a VAR license. It is therefore from next January that this system will be generalized to all the competitions of the championship of first division. In any case, this system is locked and supervised by FIFA. The International Football Association Board, the body that determines and changes the rules of the game of football, is involved in this project.
Morocco did not obtain the approval of this international football body until after various controls, travel to Zurich and the presence in Morocco of an instructor throughout the training. Respect for the VAR protocol is essential in 4 situations: “goal or not goal”, “penalty or not”, red card and misidentification, underlines Jamal Al Kaououachi, who is also a member of the FRMF Steering Committee.
The idea of engaging in VAR sprouted in Faouzi Lakjaâ’s head last year. He then announced plans to implement this system at an arbitration meeting, with the participation of club presidents and technical staff. He also briefed Gianni Infatino, FIFA President, on the Federation’s determination to provide video assistance to the arbitration.
If Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are equipped with this technology, arbitration is provided by foreigners. Even for CAF matches, it is foreigners who are in charge. This is not the case of Morocco, which is implementing this technology with its own referees. The FRMF is preparing a sensitization campaign for other stakeholders, such as club leaders, technical staff and players.
