The desire to make video referee (VAR) decisions “more understandable to spectators” justified the experience of revealing them live during the ongoing Club World Cup, FIFA’s head of referees said on Monday.
“We have decided to carry out these tests because we have received some requests to make the decision made by the referee after a VAR intervention more understandable for all football players, especially the spectators who are in the stadium or in front of the television ” , he justified the Italian Pierluigi Collina, president of the referee committee, in statements on the FIFA website.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) decided on January 18 that for 12 months VAR decisions, on an experimental basis, in international competitions will be explained live to the public, both in the stadium and on television broadcasts, similar to then what is already happening in other sports, such as the United States Football League (NFL), “which has been doing it for a long time”.
“Since language can be one of the problems, we thought this FIFA Club World Cup would be perfect, because it is a multilingual competition, with the participation of national teams and, of course, spectators from all continents,” Collina explained afterwards. having already played three matches in Rabat and Tangier, Morocco.
The FIFA official reveals that the referees are “apparently quite comfortable” with the measure.
“In football, language can be a problem, especially if you have to announce in a language that is not your native language. It may not be that easy. But as the announcement will be very concise, I am confident that the referees will will do. feel comfortable with it,” he added.
This measure will also be tested at the Under-20 World Cup to be held in Indonesia in May, and is also on the agenda for the Women’s World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand between July 20 and August 20.
The IFAB’s mission is to ensure that the Laws of the Game are preserved and adapted to the evolution of football, and a three-quarter majority is required to pass a proposal.
This body consists of the four British football associations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), with one vote each, and FIFA (comprising the other 207 national associations), with four votes.
In recent years, former footballers and referees have joined the IFAB’s technical sub-committee.
Source: DN
