Finidi after the match said, “I don’t know why we couldn’t have a play or incident properly checked to know if a goal is properly scored or not”
By Kehinde Okeowo
Super Eagles head coach, Finidi George has condemned the non-availability of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology during Nigeria’s FIFA World Cup qualifying match against South Africa in Uyo on Friday.
Bafana Bafana held the Super Eagles to a 1-1 draw in the keenly contested encounter.
The visitors took the lead in the 21st minute through Themba Zwane but Nigeria restored parity in the 46th minute through Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.
However, the Super Eagles were denied what looked like a clear penalty when goal hero, Dele-Bashiru was hacked down inside the box in the 53rd minute.
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Apart from this, Samuel Chukwueze’s left footed curling effort also crashed against the crossbar and dropped down, leaving many pundits and Nigerian fans to wonder if the ball crossed the goal line.
Speaking after the encounter, an obviously frustrated Finidi suggested that a game of such magnitude should have been officiated with VAR technology.
He said, “I’m sure we all saw the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire where the VAR was properly used.
“Even the Europeans were applauding the AFCON, you know. For me, I don’t know why in (World Cup qualifiers) like this, where everything counts and we couldn’t have a play or incident properly checked to know if a goal is properly scored or not.
“Chukwueze’s cross which hit the (underneath of the) bar, from where I was standing, I don’t know whether it crossed the line, but if there’s VAR, we would have had the opportunity of having a better view. For me, I’m just a coach and cannot change the rules of FIFA”.