Egypt to start applying VAR technology in domestic league 2nd round: EFA member

Egyptian referees have come under stern criticism in the past few seasons with most clubs requesting the implementation of video assistant referee technology

Soccer Football - African Champions League Final - First Leg - Al Ahly vs Esperance Sportive de Tunis - Borg El Arab Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt - November 2, 2018 VAR displayed on the big screen before the match REUTERS

Egyptian Football Association (EFA) member Mohamed Fadl announced Thursday that VAR, video assistant referee technology, will be used in stadiums when the second round of the Egyptian Premier League starts.

"We will rent VAR technology equipment for three and a half years, then we will own it permanently," Fadl told a television programme.
"VAR technology will be officially used when the second round of the league starts,” he added.

The first round of the Egyptian Premier League is scheduled to finish 19 February with the Cairo derby between Ahly and Zamalek.

"We finalised the process as we received the machines to train our referees on the new technology,” Fadl revealed.

"The EFA will pay all the costs of the VAR technology, and a trainer for referees will arrive in Cairo 12 January to train 54 referees. After 28 days of training, we will be ready to use the technology," Fadl said.

Egyptian referees have come under stern criticism in the past few seasons and most clubs have requested the implementation of VAR technology to avoid obvious mistakes that overshadowed several games.

Video assistant referee technology allows match officials to review decisions made by the head referee.

The VAR team, stationed in a video operation room, automatically check every on-field referee decision under the four reviewable categories.