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Steve Barker has his say on VAR while biting his lip after Orlando Pirates’ controversial MTN8 final winner

FILE - Stellenbosch FC Steve Barker during an MTN8 press conference in 2023. Barker was deeply disappointed about the manne in which his team lost the final to Orlando Pirates. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers.

FILE - Stellenbosch FC Steve Barker during an MTN8 press conference in 2023. Barker was deeply disappointed about the manne in which his team lost the final to Orlando Pirates. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers.

Published Oct 7, 2024

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Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker had to bite his lip on a number of occasions to hide how he really felt after the MTN8 final debacle.

Barker was visibly dejected following the defeat after he and his team found themselves on the wrong side of a controversial call in the dying moments of the MTN8 final against Orlando Pirates in Durban.

With the match seemingly headed to extra time with the game deadlocked at 1-1 after 90 minutes, Pirates were awarded a free kick. However, it was taken way in front of where the foul was committed, which caught the Stellenbosch defenders by surprise. Tshegofatso Mabasa was then fed the ball inside the penalty area, before slotting home what proved to the match winner.

Barker revealed after the match that Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology was initially mooted for the final. However, referee Abongile Tom and his assistants that were left to their own devices on the night.

A seething Barker says that if VAR was in use, “sanity would have prevailed” and the match would have headed into extra time.

“I think at some stage, there was a point when they were looking to target the final to implement VAR. Unfortunately, it did not happen,” Barker said.

“However, it seems like there are big calls that do not go the right way. I think the implementation of VAR will help, you know.

“It’s just that a lot was happening. It’s a cup final; you take a quick free kick and end up scoring a goal. You know, he had that decision to make, and he let the goal stand.

So, with VAR intervention, it would have been said, ‘Listen, we need to restart; it wasn’t taken at the right place’, and he was still speaking with the players and didn’t even see what happened.

“At least sanity would have prevailed, and we would have had an interesting extra time.”

@JohnGoliath82

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stellenbosch fcorlando piratesdurbanmtn8soccervar