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Rabat – Morocco has used video assistant referee (VAR) during a league match between Fath Union Sport (FUS) and Ittihad Tanger on Friday.
The North African country becomes again the first country to use the technology in a local match.
Morocco already used VAR last year in November during a match between Ittihad Athletic Sports of Casablanca and El Jadida Difaa El Hassani in the semi-final of the Throne-Cup, one of the landmark football competitions in the country.
Morocco’s Football Federation (FRMF) decided not to use VAR during the beginning of the league season to give time to referees for training.
The head of the Moroccan Arbitration Directorate Yahia Hadqa said that Morocco installed the technology across stadiums.
“We hope this technology will be positive for the teams, fans, officials, referees, and Moroccan football in general.
The FRMF chairman Fouzi Lekjaa warned that people who are not qualified will not run the technology.
Morocco hosted a training session of VAR at the Mohammed VI Conference Palace in Skhirat near Rabat in September 2019.
Morocco was one among several football teams to complain that VAR was not used to judge fouls in Morocco’s favor in its Portugal game during the 2018 World Cup, while the technology was used to allow an equalizer for Spain in Morocco’s last game.
The issue caused Moroccan football fans to launch a petition to denounce the lack of VAR use in the Portugal game.
