Sundowns coach Mokwena does not quite fancy VAR

The business end of the Caf Champions League will see the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee as the quarterfinals of the continent’s grandest club stage kick off this weekend.

Mamelodi Sundowns will play the first leg against Algerian side CR Belouizdad at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday – the Algerian side touched down in South Africa on Monday.

While VAR is meant to minimise the disputes surrounding penalties and other match-defining incidents, Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena does not sound like someone who has invested all of his faith in the technology.

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“VAR is a component that is handled by match officials behind the scenes so it is still part of the game that is open to flaws and human errors,” says Mokwena.

“Ours is to not put our minds behind it but to show that we are focused on playing against a good side and they know that they will be playing against a good side. We have to focus on the match performance and try to make sure that we are at our best and performing at a level that is expected of us,” he added.

Marumo’s trip to Egypt

Meanwhile, Marumo Gallants are in the quarterfinals of the Caf Confederation Cup where they will face Egyptian side Pyramids this Sunday.

Gallants mentor, Raymond Mdaka says the strategy is to stick to their guns and to avoid being bulldozed by what he described as a “physical” side.

“When we go out and play in Caf, we use the character that we have. Those countries are more physical. A team like SuperSport United that we last played, play long balls but they are not a physical side,” said Mdaka.

“In Africa, most of the teams are physical and they give a lot of spaces for us to play. It is nice when you go out and get results and come back home with something, other than saying we will get them at home. We will fight as much as we can so that when we come back, the assignment should not be too big,” he added.