VAR hits Senegalese wrestling - 12th January 2024

A common feature of today's high profile matches in tennis, football, rugby and cricket, video assisted refereeing - more commonly known as VAR - has now become a feature in the time-honoured sport of Senegalese wrestling.

The sport, referred to as La Lutte, is a branch of an ancient traditional genre of wrestling typical of West African countries, except that in the Senegalese strain contestants aren't prohibited from striking their rivals during bouts.

With champions acquiring demigod status, there's a great deal riding on the decisions of the referee who presides over the competition. Given that disgruntled devotees have been known to tear up the stadium, sports journalist Malal Junior Diagne feels VAR could resolve disputes.

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, a cohort of technicians and a VAR officer constitute the VAR system, and images recorded as the match unfolds are transmitted to a monitor tucked under an awning. The footage can be referred to by the VAR team or the referee, a valuable option in the eyes of Sitor Ndour, Wrestling Referees President.

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."

For elite wrestlers, who stand to secure tens of thousands of euros, there's a great deal riding on these verdicts. Sportsman Bombardier's view is that the VAR footage should be broadcast for all to witness.

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."

Despite being limited to the national wrestling stadium for the time being, it's anticipated that VAR systems might soon be rolled out across the whole of Senegal.