Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is set to be introduced to the Moroccan top-flight league starting from next season. President of the Royal Football Federation (FRMF), Faouzi Lakjaa has announced that the Morocco Botola Pro League will adopt video technology from next season to assist referees. This comes as VAR is also set to be used at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in June after being tried at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) last year in Morocco.
“I inform you that the Botola will not start next season without VAR, and those who are not qualified for this new technology will not practice in Morocco,” Lakjaa was quoted as saying by Aftik Foot. The use of VAR requires specific training and the Frmf has partnered with Fifa for the training of referees on the use of this officiating technology. VAR is yet to be widely adopted in Africa and was used during last season’s CAF Champions League final, first leg but still stirred controversy.
VAR was conceived by the Refereeing 2.0 project in the early 2010s, under the direction of the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB). The system was tested through mock trials during the 2012/13 season of the Eredivisie, the country’s top football league. In 2014, the KNVB petitioned the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to amend its laws of the games to allow the system to be used during more extensive trials. The IFAB approved trials and a pathway to full implementation during its 2016 general meeting.
A live trial of the VAR system began in August 2016 with a United Soccer League match between two Major League Soccer reserve sides. Match referee Ismail Elfath reviewed two fouls during the match and, after consultation with video assistant referee Allen Chapman, decided to issue a red card and a yellow card in the respective incidents. Video reviews were introduced the following month during an international friendly between France and Italy. A “pitchside monitor” was introduced at the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup, allowing referees to review footage from the field.
The VAR system was introduced in top flight European football by Bundesliga and the Serie A at the beginning of the 2017–18 season and by La Liga at the beginning of the 2018–19 season. The system was also used at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in October. On 8 January 2018, VAR was trialled for the first time in England in the 2017–18 FA Cup game between Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace, and the following day it was trialled for the first time in France in the Côte d’Azur derby game in the 2017–18 French League Cup. It was said to have worked well. Italy opened the world’s first VAR training centre in Coverciano in January 2018.