Howard Webb has confirmed that the Premier League is exploring the introduction of in-stadium announcements to explain video assistant referee (VAR) decisions.
The idea was discussed at the Premier League shareholders’ meeting in April, where the introduction of semi-automated offsides was approved.
In-stadium referee announcements were used at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand – the first time they had been implemented at a senior World Cup, having already been used during the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco and among the under-20s. World Cup in Argentina.
England’s refereeing body, the Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOL), is keen to introduce the measure and operations director Webb has confirmed plans to improve communication for supporters attending matches.
Speaking about the Premier League production ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’, Webb said: “It (the stadium experience) needs to be improved, doesn’t it? When you hear the clips from shows like this, what’s happening makes sense.
Referring to the process behind referee Andy Madley’s decision not to award Brighton a penalty during April’s Premier League match at Brentford as Lewis Dunk and Yoane Wissa argued in the box, Webb continued: ” It all becomes obvious and in fact you will hear the referee, Andy Madley, after he comes on screen saying: “I’m going to speak to Lewis Dunk to explain why the penalty he feels he should have won’t happen because he fouled Wissa before that.” We are looking at ways to improve the in-stadium experience.
“One of the things you might have seen in FIFA tournaments, like the Women’s World Cup, is the referee’s announcements once they’re on the screen. So we’re looking at that , we’re keeping an open mind as to whether it’s something we could use in the Premier League.
“For situations like this, it would be really helpful if the referee could speak to everyone in the stadium – (to explain) why you didn’t award a penalty because of the foul you committed before the match. Penalty call when Dunk fouled Wissa.
At the Women’s World Cup, the explanation of decisions took place following a VAR intervention, with the referee approaching the pitchside monitor, making his decision and then announcing it over the stadium loudspeakers.
FIFA explained that its decision to introduce the measure at the tournament was aimed at improving transparency – an area Webb has been keen to improve in the Premier League since being appointed to the PGMOL management team in December 2022. This includes initiatives such as “Match Officials Mic”. d Up’, the TV show that first made audio of Premier League referees public.
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(Top photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)