Soccer-VAR returns to Egyptian league after sudden absence

CAIRO - Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology has returned to the Egyptian Premier League after being absent for one round of matches in the competition due to financial problems.

VAR went missing after last month's international break, and Gamal Allam, President of the Egyptian Football Association, acknowledged there was a problem with late payments to Spanish company Mediapro who supply the technology in Egypt.

The absence sparked dissatisfaction from teams and fans amid fears VAR would not return until the end of the season.

However, the video system returned for Al-Masry’s 1-0 victory against Haras Al-Hodood on Friday.

It was not available for the 1-1 draw between Aswan and Ceramica Cleopatra played at the same time due to the difficulty of transporting the VAR equipment to Aswan in southern Egypt.

Even with the technology back in place complaints about match officials in Egypt have not stopped.

Pyramids, owned by an Emirati businessman, have announced the shelving of planned investments in a new stadium and other projects due to a dispute over the referee selected for their Egyptian Cup final with Al-Ahly coming up on Monday.

Pyramids, third in the table after 22 matches and seven points behind leaders Al-Ahly who have three games in hand, want foreign officials for the final but the Egyptian FA has refused.

(Reporting by Osama Khairy; Writing by Ahmed Mostafa; Editing by Ken Ferris)