Posted by General Secretary of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Prosper Harrison Addo has rubbished reports that FIFA has rejected a proposal from his outfit to implement Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
Per a report from Saddick Adams, FIFA has rejected GFA’s implementation proposal. As reported in the said proposal, GFA wanted to apply the VAR to only selected games on TV.
However, FIFA rejected the proposal, suggesting to GFA to broadcast all 9 league games on TV before the implementation of VAR in Ghana will be approved.
The report further stipulated that the Executive Committee of the Ghana FA will submit the new FIFA recommendations on the VAR to Congress.
Responding to the report, the scribe of the Ghana FA, Prosper Harrison Addo has stated that it is untrue, describing the story as a “April fools” story.
“Enough of these false stories bro. It is not cool. Seriously disappointed that you have direct contact with me but you didn’t crosscheck. This story even looks like April Fool story, because VAR Application does not go to Congress. Seriously not good bro,” said Prosper Harrison Addo in a Facebook post.
In April 2021, the Ghana FA announced that FIFA has approved a project team, which is the second key step in the implementation process of the VAR.
The Project Team was made up of referees manager Alex Kotey, Prosper Harrison-Addo, Eyram Dzikonu, Henry Asante Twum, Sena Akoto-Ampaw, Julius Enumah, Jamil Maraby and three CAF instructors.
What is VAR?
The Video Assistant Referee is an assistant referee in association football who intervenes in decisions made by the referee and requests for an on field review with the use of video footage and headset for communication.
VAR was first written into the Laws of the Game by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in 2018, following extensive training in a number of major competitions.
The technology was designed to reduce critical errors in soccer referees’ decision-making. Currently, only few African countriesh, namely, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt use VAR in their domestic competitions.