The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has received the approval of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to apply the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in two stadiums, said Ahmed Abdallah, member of the EFA's normalisation committee. Earlier in January, the EFA announced that it had started its training programme for Egyptian referees to implement the VAR technology in the domestic competitions in the upcoming weeks. The VAR technology allows match officials to review decisions made by the head referee. "IFAB approved applying the VAR technology in both Cairo International Stadium and Al-Salam Stadium," Abdallah told ON Sport TV channel on Wednesday. "We are working now to get the approval for the other stadiums. "According to our plan, the VAR will be applied in both the Egyptian Premier League and the Egypt Cup, and the football association will cover the entire cost," he added. The VAR is originally scheduled to be applied by the start of the second half of the Egyptian Premier League's current season, which will start later in February, but the EFA is yet to announce the official launch date. "The cost of applying the VAR will be 4.25 million euros for three-and-a-half years, with an option to pay an extra 600,000 or 700,000 euros by the end of the contract to buy the equipments permanently," Abdallah explained. Egyptian referees have come under stern criticism in the past few seasons and the majority of clubs have requested the implementation of the VAR to avoid obvious mistakes that overshadowed several games. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
