Fifa says it is anticipating some miscommunication when referees announce video assistant referee decisions to the crowd at the Women’s World Cup.
Officials will announce VAR decisions via microphone to fans in stadiums and viewers at home for the first time at a senior Fifa international tournament.
Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the Fifa referees committee, admitted there could be “mistakes” when officials speak to crowds at stadiums.
The World Cup begins on Thursday.
Joint-hosts New Zealand face Norway at Eden Park in Auckland to open the tournament, before Australia play the Republic of Ireland at Stadium Australia in Sydney.
Former World Cup final official Collina said Fifa is trying to ease pressure on referees before the tournament.
He said conversations between on-pitch referees and the VAR would not be broadcast as those would often be taking place in the referees’ second language, and that only the final decision would be announced.
“We didn’t want to put each pressure on them [referees] so we told them to be natural, say what comes across as natural and don’t be too focused on following a script,” Collina said.
The 63-year-old Italian, who officiated the 2002 men’s World Cup final, said that mistakes still happen in refereeing announcements in American football, where they have been a staple for 50 years, and so Fifa is prepared for implementation not to be perfect in Australia and New Zealand.
He said: “NFL have made announcements of refereeing decisions for 50 years and today very experienced referees make funny announcements with mistakes. Speaking on a microphone in front of 50, 60, 70,000 people through the PA is not easy.
“Refereeing is not easy and this will add some extra pressure. But we are confident that it will work well.”
How will the process work?
- One of these scenarios will be sent to VAR for review: mistaken identity, potential red card, potential foul in the penalty area, and goals scored
- Every incident is checked by three officials – the VAR, the assistant VAR and the fourth official
- Replays will be shown on screen in stadiums and broadcast on TV
- Once the decision is made, the on-field referee will make an announcement in the stadium which will also be broadcast to TV viewers
- The announcement could include all or some of these elements – the final decision, reason it has been given, which player committed the offence and occasionally some additional description on the offence
- For example, the referee could say: “A penalty kick has been awarded because player number two made contact with player number nine in the box”
‘I don’t know if you speak Spanish or Greek’
Trials of VAR discussions being audible to crowds and television viewers in domestic leagues, such as the Australian A-League, have seen the full conversations between referees broadcast rather than just the final verdict.
Collina confirmed this would not be the case at the World Cup following discussions between Fifa and the International Football Association Board (Ifab) and said announcements will always be in English.
“I don’t know if you speak Spanish or Greek or whatever – if I invite you to say something in a different language to your mother tongue, it would put extra pressure on you,” he said.
Kari Seitz, Fifa’s head of refereeing in women’s football, who has led preparations for the 2023 World Cup, said a tournament was organised for officials to practice under full-match scenarios.
“We created an entire tournament just for match officials to feel the tempo. We had something called the Referee’s Cup to prepare the match officials. It was very comprehensive,” she said.
Regarding on-field announcements, Seitz said: “We have asked them to communicate these items – the final decision (eg. penalty kick, offside), the reasons of the exact offence, who committed the offence and then if they can add descriptions.
“We know it’s the first time they have been practising and they have learned very quickly but the most important thing for us is the decision on the field. If we can get all of that inside the announcement, great. But our priority is to make the correct decision. If we can explain these four things, that’s the extra content.
“I’m confident we can get 80-90% of this. Our goal is to make sure the spectators in the stands have a better understanding of what’s happening on the field.”
Collina said he is confident implementation of VAR would be better than at the 2019 World Cup in France, which saw several high-profile incidents, including in England’s last-16 win over Cameroon, in which the African side briefly refused to continue playing following a controversial VAR decision.
He stressed that player safety is paramount following the abandonment of a friendly between the Republic of Ireland and Colombia, with Irish players unhappy about rough challenges in the game.
Collina also said officials would be encouraged to be strict in adding additional time for stoppages, following matches at Qatar 2022 being extended by an average of 11 minutes, in a bid to deter time-wasting.
