The absence of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers has come under renewed scrutiny following Ghana’s 2-0 defeat to Côte d’Ivoire in Bouaké on Thursday.
Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz expressed frustration over the decision that led to Côte d’Ivoire’s second goal after referee Mustapha Ghorbal awarded the hosts a penalty for Abdul Fatawu Issahaku’s challenge on Malick Yalcouyé.
Franck Kessié converted the spot-kick to double Côte d’Ivoire’s advantage, but the decision became a major talking point after the match. Queiroz, after watching television replays, described the penalty decision as “a joke.”
Questions were also raised during Nigeria’s clash with Madagascar over the absence of VAR after Madagascar appeared to have scored from a potentially offside position. Further replays, however, showed that Ehsan Kari was not offside.
The incidents have renewed discussions about why VAR is not routinely available during AFCON qualifying matches.
The absence of VAR in the qualifiers is not simply a decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to leave the technology out. VAR requires significant technical and operational infrastructure before it can be deployed effectively.
For VAR to operate, stadiums need suitable camera systems, communication networks, video-review facilities, trained VAR officials and other technical equipment. Maintaining these requirements across all venues used in a continental qualifying competition can be challenging.
Unlike the AFCON finals, which are staged at a limited number of selected and approved stadiums, the qualifiers involve teams from all 54 CAF member associations and are played at venues with varying levels of infrastructure.
The Stade de la Paix in Bouaké, where Ghana faced Côte d’Ivoire, is capable of supporting VAR. The stadium hosted matches during the 2023 AFCON, where the technology was used throughout the tournament.
However, the wider challenge for CAF is ensuring that the same standard can be maintained across the entire qualifying competition.
CAF’s stadium regulations set different requirements for different competitions, meaning venues approved for qualifying matches may not necessarily meet all the standards required for the AFCON final tournament.
Where a country does not have a stadium approved for a particular competition, CAF can require its home matches to be played at another approved venue, including a venue outside the country.
Introducing VAR at only some qualifying venues could also create inconsistencies, with teams potentially playing under different officiating conditions depending on where their matches are held.
For VAR to be introduced across the AFCON qualifiers, CAF would therefore need to ensure that the necessary technology, infrastructure, trained personnel and operational systems are available and functional at every participating venue.
Ultimately, the challenge is not simply whether a particular stadium can accommodate VAR, but whether the technology can be deployed consistently across the entire qualifying competition. Until that standard can be guaranteed, CAF faces difficulties in implementing VAR at some venues while leaving it unavailable at others.
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