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For the first time in English football history, referees will announce VAR decisions over stadium loudspeakers during a match, and the historic development will be put to the test during the upcoming Carabao Cup semi-final.
Arsenal host Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium on January 7, while Liverpool travel to face Tottenham Hotspur the following day at the first games of the final four. The reverse fixtures will take place in the first week of February and all four matches will be subject to the new evolution of video assistant refereeing.
As a follow-up to the initiatives adopted in other tenders, Carabao Cup semi-final referees will be able to directly communicate the decisions they make in conjunction with VAR to fans in the stadium – and thus to those watching on TV with the sound on.
AND statement from the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) – English football’s refereeing body – revealed that the public address system will be used whenever a referee reports to a pitchside monitor or “finds a factual matter such as accidental handball by the scorer or offside fouls where the attacker touches the ball”.
PGMOL described the move as “part of our wider commitment to transparency including providing greater clarity and understanding around key decisions”.
A subsequent statement from the English Football League (EFL), the governing body that runs the Carabao Cup, emphasized that “only the final decision will be announced at the stadium” and not the explanation behind the call.
PGMOL Chief Referee Howard Webb has made an active effort to remove the veil of mystique that often hangs over referee decisions, leaving a void that is always filled by conspiracy theories. This drive for transparency has taken shape Microphone on for match officials – a bi-monthly show in which the former referee of the World Cup finals reviews the most controversial decisions in the English first league – i explanations in the game from the Premier League Match Center X account.
During an episode of Mic’d Up last April, Webb teased this announcement update. “We are looking at ways to improve the stadium experience,” said the former Premier League official.
“One of the things you might have seen in FIFA tournaments, like the Women’s World Cup, is the announcements by the referee after they’ve been in front of the screen. So we’re looking at that, keeping an open mind about whether that’s something we could use in Premier League.”
