Mic’d up referees will announce their reasons behind VAR decisions to fans in stadiums and on TV at next month’s Club World Cup… with the Premier League’s Anthony Taylor to be part of the trial by football’s lawmakers
- Referees at the Club World Cup will announce reasoning behind VAR decisions
- The movement is part of a trial by the International Football Association Board
- The IFAB ruled against the implementation of a countdown clock in matches
- The Premier League’s bid for concussion substitutes was rejected by the board
Referees at the Club World Cup that begins next week will announce reasoning behind VAR decisions to fans in stadiums and to TV audiences.
The movement is part of a trial authorised by the International Football Association Board and aims to provide more clarity over officials’ decisions.
Premier League official Anthony Taylor – who officiated two matches during the World Cup in Qatar – is one of the referee’s involved in the trial period.
Referees will be mic’d up and will announce reasoning for VAR decisions in the Club World Cup
Officials will have to explain their decision to fans in stadium and those watching on TV
Fans have been demanding further clarity over decisions ruled by VAR, given the recent controversy that the technology has been marred in.
At the start of January, Wolves were denied a match-winning goal against Liverpool after VAR ruled that they did not have enough evidence to overturn the on-field decision.
Last weekend, during the Manchester derby, there was chaos as Bruno Fernandes’ goal was allowed to stand despite Marcus Rashford being in an offside position.
It is also understood that the IFAB ruled against a countdown clock trial but new FIFA guidelines will tell competitions to follow the World Cup approach to added on time.
At the tournament in Qatar, there were several matches that went beyond 100 minutes due to the amount of time added on by referees.
Elsewhere at the meeting, the Premier League’s and the MLS’ bid to hold trial of rugby-style temporary concussion subs next season was rejected in favour of permanent concussion subs continuing.
Permanent concussion substitutions were introduced in February 2021 after consultation with medical experts, in a bid to improve management of possible neurological head injuries in football matches.
When the rule was introduced, IFAB claimed that a player should be protected by being ‘permanently’ removed them from the match.
Temporary concussion substitutes – one of the cornerstones of Sportsmail’s campaign for football to tackle its dementia crisis – have been a topic of debate for many weeks.
IFAB ruled against the introduction of rugby-style, ‘temporary’ concussions substitutes
As it stands, fans are currently not explained the reasons behind VAR’s decisions
The concept of a countdown clock in football has been suggested by former FA chief David Dein – who raised concerns about football’s timekeeping system.
Former FA and Arsenal vice-chairman Dein proposed a countdown clock or the introduction of independent timekeeping in a document called ‘Pure Time’ to FIFA referee chiefs, which has been backed by the likes of Jamie Carragher.
Dein had hoped that IFAB would discuss the issue their annual meeting scheduled – with the hope of holding a trial at a tournament.
‘The time has come for transparency via a countdown clock so the public can actually see how much time is left. It should not be a national secret,’ Dein told The Times.
‘I’m not saying the clock should be stopped every time the ball goes out of play, but certainly for those incidents which cause the greatest delays: goal celebrations, substitutions, penalties, injuries and now VAR checks.’
Ex-FA chief David Dein has led proposals for a publicly seen countdown clock to be introduced
Wolves thought they’d scored a late winner at Liverpool – but VAR overturned the goal
