SOCCER
Soccer

Collina: We want to make VAR interventions more understandable for fans

Could be implemented at international tournaments

Pierluigi Collina, Chairman of the FIFA referees committee
Pierluigi Collina, Chairman of the FIFA referees committee
ES

The president of the FIFA Referees Committee, Pierluigi Collina, believes that live communication of video assistant referee (VAR) related decisions to the public will help fans to gain a better understanding of the technology.

Meanwhile, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) agreed at their annual meeting on January 18 that VAR-related decisions - both at the stadium and via TV broadcasts - would be explained to the public for 12 months on an trial basis across international competitions.

"We decided to have this trial because we received some requests to make the decision taken by the referee after a VAR intervention more understandable for all the football stakeholders, namely the spectators at the stadium, or in front of the television" Collina told fifa.com.

"As language could be one of the issues, we thought this FIFA Club World Cup would be perfect because it's a multi-language competition, with teams and, of course, spectators involved coming from all six of the different continents."

The NFL example

FIFA's head of refereeing referred to similar experiences in other sports, particularly in the American football league (NFL).

"I have to say that there are other experiences in other sports, namely the NFL in American football, who have been doing this for quite a long time. It seems that the referees are pretty comfortable with this" continued Collina.

"In football, language could be a problem, particularly when you have to make this announcement in a language which is not your mother tongue.

"This may not be that easy. But as the announcement will be quite concise, I'm very confident that the referees will feel comfortable with this."

U20 World Cup

The implementation of that live communication at the U20 World Cup, which will take place in Indonesia in May, is currently under discussion.

Depending on the outcome, FIFA do not rule out using it at the Women's World Cup, one which will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20.

It has to be noted that IFAB consists of the four British football federations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) who have one vote each, and FIFA (which includes the remaining 207 national federations), who have four votes.

They aim to ensure that the Laws of the Game are preserved while respecting the traditions of football and its international reality. A three-quarters majority is required for a proposal to be approved.

In recent years, with the introduction of the Football Advisory Panel (FAP) and the Technical Advisory Panel (TAP), experienced members of the football world, such as former players and referees, have been brought on board to support the IFAB Technical Sub-Committee in the decision-making process.

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