Recently retired South African referee Victor Gomes has allayed fears that the implementation of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the PSL could be affected by the frequent load shedding.
The introduction of the VAR in the PSL is believed to be imminent, with plans in place to roll out the system in the stadiums as early as next season.
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Former PSL referee Gomes, who retired at the age of 40, after officiating at his first FIFA World Cup in Qatar says he is also convinced that the technogical refereeing review system will soon be used in the country.
"VAR is here to stay, we need VAR, we cannot continue without VAR, it is the future. We've been told by our international bosses that it is the future and it will remain here," Gomes said on Marawa Sports World Wide.
"And I think its just a matter of time before it comes to South Africa."
The power crisis in the country, which has been managed through load-shedding, could pose a threat to the VAR systems that require power to assist the referee.
However, Gomes, who was in charge of two group matches and was the fourth official in one quarterfinal match at the recently completed showpiece, says load shedding fears cannot stop the application of the VAR, as he has seen first hand contingency plans that were made in Qatar in case of such events.
The forthright former referee, explained that there is already back-up plans being used, not only was used at the World Cup but in countries such as Netherlands and believes South Africa has the infrastructure to put such systems in place.
"Your question regarding load shedding and how it interferes, I'll just give you some insight as to the World Cup," Gomes went on.
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"We had additional people who were situated at a venue, that in the event that there was a down wage (downtime) for whatever time, it would take, literally two or three minutes for the next crew to be already on par while the referee has continued.
"So the game would not need to stop, we would already have a back-up. So these are the things we need to consider, but we're not the first.
"We have countries like Holland that are doing it, we have many European countries that are doing it already and with our infrastructure, I believe it can be done," he added.
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