South Africa’s long wait for Video Assistant Referee technology has turned into a money-and-accountability showdown after Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie said he demanded that the South African Football Association return R13 million linked to the stalled rollout.
McKenzie said SAFA requested 21 days after receiving his demand, putting fresh pressure on a federation that had been expected to take VAR from procurement plans to an operating system in domestic football.
The confrontation carries extra weight because government had already put public money behind the project. Official government records show that a first R20 million tranche was transferred to SAFA in March 2026 as part of the planned VAR implementation programme.
At the time, government presented the project as a major step towards modernising refereeing in South African football, with SAFA positioned to lead procurement and implementation. Months later, VAR is still not operating and the tone between government and the football authorities has hardened dramatically.
From R20m rollout to R13m demand
McKenzie now says he has written to SAFA demanding the return of R13 million. That figure is different from the R20 million originally documented as having been transferred by government.
What is established is simpler and still serious: government transferred funds for VAR implementation, the technology has not arrived as expected, and the minister now says he wants R13 million returned. For a project sold as a credibility upgrade for South African football, that is a dramatic shift.
VAR promise becomes governance pressure
VAR has long been demanded by supporters frustrated by controversial refereeing decisions in South African football.
Government had previously indicated that procurement and implementation work was progressing, with SAFA expected to complete crucial steps required to put the technology into operation. Instead, the conversation has moved from cameras, referee training and implementation timelines to deadlines, public money and institutional responsibility.
McKenzie has also said he is looking towards FIFA as he tries to move the VAR process forward. That raises the stakes further.
The issue is no longer simply whether South African football needs VAR. That argument has largely been settled by years of refereeing controversy and repeated promises of implementation. The pressure now falls on the institutions responsible for delivering it.
SAFA faces a critical 21 days
SAFA now has an opportunity to explain the state of the project, the use and status of the funding and the route if one still exists towards putting VAR into operation.
A clear implementation plan could cool the confrontation. Continued uncertainty would do the opposite.
For supporters, the frustration is brutally straightforward: money went into a VAR project, the technology remains absent, and the dispute has now reached the point where the sports minister says he wants millions of rand returned.
South African football wanted VAR to settle arguments on the pitch. Instead, the fight over getting it there has become one of the biggest arguments off it.
Cranse Sports
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