Senegalese wrestling ref gets VAR - 12th January 2024

VAR, video assisted refereeing, is already common in sports like football, cricket and tennis. Its use has now been accepted in the ancient sport of Senegalese wrestling.

La Lutte, as it's known, is part of a traditional form of wrestling which is practised across West Africa. The main difference is that the Senegalese kind allows wrestlers to strike each other.

Since championship winners are given huge respect, the referees' decision is a very challenging one. If supporters aren't satisfied, they're known at times to destroy parts of the stadiums.

Malal Junior Diagne believes VAR might be the solution.

Malal Junior Diagne: "It will enable wrestling to move past situations involving disputes during matches and unclear falls. It will allow these disputes to be settled in the arena itself."

Three cameras are involved, and also a team of workers which includes a VAR officer. Images are sent back to a hidden screen. This can be checked by either the VAR team or the referee himself.

Sitor Ndour, President of Wrestling Referees, believes it'll result in better decisions.

Sitor Ndour: "If there's a dispute, if there's a fall that leads to confusion, the referee of the bout can stop and come and ask for VAR, just as we, being in VAR, can ask the referee to come and review the images before he gives the decision. The aim is simply to get to the right decision."

The winners can take away tens of thousands of euros, so these decisions are enormously important. For wrestler Bombardier, fans should also be permitted to see the VAR information.

Serigne Ousmane aka Bombardier: "VAR has to be displayed publicly so that the wrestlers can see what happened, but they put it on a small screen in the booth and that doesn't give the spectators or the wrestlers a clear view of what happened."

VAR is limited to the national wrestling stadium for now. However, it might reach other stadiums in the rest of the country before long.