Used for the first time during the 2018 FIFA World Cup and recently at Qatar 2022, video assistance to refereeing also called VAR is rarely applied in certain matches in Africa due to lack of equipment. But Monday during a match counting for the quarter-finals of an inter-sector tournament in Burkina Faso, the VAR was introduced.
This is the first edition of the GMO Foot Inter-Sector tournament in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The organizers decided to introduce VAR from the quarter-finals, for the match dominated by CFA FC against CF PAC (4-0).
“The VAR allowed us to detect two (2) anti-game situations which resulted in 2 red cards, in this quarter-final poster”, rejoiced the organizers who are trending on social media after the publication of the pictures.
VAR in Burkina Faso, May 22, 2023. Photo by GMO (facebook)
Launched on April 30 by the Madina Oumarou Group (GMO), the tournament brings together young people from the sectors of the city of Ouagadougou. It is an AFCON format competition in four groups of 4 with cut-to-length matches to reach the final which is scheduled for June 4, 2023.
As a reminder, the video assistant referee is a match official in association football who reviews the decisions made by the referee.