LONDON – Referees will explain VAR (video assistant referee) decisions to stadium crowds and television audiences in a 12-month trial starting at the Fifa Club World Cup in Morocco in February, football’s lawmaking body said on Wednesday.
The International Football Association Board (Ifab) failed to agree, however, on trialling rugby-style temporary concussion substitutes.
The players’ union FIFPro had lobbied for such a trial in the English Premier League, France’s Ligue 1 and Major League Soccer in the United States.
Ifab said in a statement after a meeting at Wembley Stadium that it also discussed clarifications relating to the laws of the game, including the guidelines on “deliberate play” in offside situations.
There was controversy last weekend when Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford was in an offside position but did not touch the ball – he was deemed not interfering with play – before Bruno Fernandes struck an equaliser in their 2-1 home win over Manchester City.
World football’s governing body Fifa has invested heavily in VAR technology since it was introduced at the 2018 World Cup in Russia but controversy remains.
Japan’s 2-1 victory over Spain in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar triggered a heated debate, with the ball initially judged to have gone out of play but the decision then reversed after a lengthy VAR consultation.
That call led to the winning goal given for the Japanese.
English Football Association (FA) chief executive Mark Bullingham, who chaired the meeting, told reporters that conversations between the referee and the VAR official would remain private.
Referees would, however, have a microphone to explain the outcome.
“There will be a trial where in Fifa tournaments over the next 12 months there is the ability for the referee, after a VAR decision has been made, to announce to the stadium and the broadcast audience what has happened and to clarify that decision,” he said.
“We think that is important in terms of transparency, and also for the crowd in the stadium who we think at the moment do not get enough information.”
The experiment could also be extended to the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Ifab said no consensus was reached on carrying out a trial with temporary substitutions for actual or suspected concussion but the subject remained under active review.
A trial of permanent concussion substitutions was extended indefinitely. REUTERS
