The refereeing at the ongoing African Cup of Nations, or AFCON, has received praise from former Chelsea and Roma coach Jose Mourinho.
Although the Portuguese strategist acknowledged that he prefers to watch the African event over European football, he said that Europe ought to imitate Africa’s integrity in officiating, particularly with regard to the application of Video Assistant Refereeing, or VAR.
He claimed that VAR’s rulings at the AFCON are not biased in favor of wealthy or well-known teams.
He recommended that VAR’s headquarters be located in Africa.
“I’ve seen more AFCON football than European league play. All they’re doing is educating us to be truthful. VAR is applied in the AFCON precisely as it should be, according to Mourinho, as reported by CFC News Report.
“They do not use it to help the money magnet teams or famous teams. This is why you saw the best out of every team . Because they know VAR is not hired behind the scenes but is for everyone. They listen even to their Players if the Ref missed something and go check. In Europe if I as a coach or a player plead with a ref to go check something, it is a red card for doing that. The headquarters for VAR needs to be in CAF.”
Recall that African Cup of Nations will climax today with the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the hosts, Cote D’Ivoire locking horns in the final.