Why are the Club World Cup referees wearing microphones?
FOOTBALL fans have begged for more transparency on refereeing decisions – and they could finally be getting their wish.
For all its controversy, the introduction of VAR has helped referees to often make the correct call on several incidents.
And the semi-automatic offside system played a huge role in decision making at the World Cup.
However, fans still feel as if they have been left in the dark once a conclusion has been agreed by the match officials.
But that could all change should this new trial go according to plan.
Why are the Club World Cup referees wearing microphones?
The Club World Cup referees have been trialling technology which allows fans in the stadium to hear match officials explaining decisions.
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It has been set in place for fans to have more transparency on how the referees have come to their decision following a VAR review.
And the Club World Cup which began on February 1, 2023 is the first event of a 12-month trial period in international contests.
What has been said?
The trial was implemented by the International Football Association Board.
FIFA Referees Committee Chairman Pierluigi Collina said that the purpose of this trial is to make the VAR intervention more ‘understandable for all’ including spectators watching from home.
He said: “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.
“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.