June 12 – At the upcoming Club World Cup, FIFA will roll out innovations, including body cameras and live footage from referee devices, but those technologies seem more about enhancing the entertainment value of the game than helping referees with decision-making.
The eye-level cameras, attached to the referees’ earpiece, will be a novelty at the expanded 32-team Club World Cup, which kicks off on Saturday in Florida with low ticket sales and growing concerns about the general climate in the US of President Donald Trump top of the agenda. But images broadcast from the cameras will be limited to ‘non-controversial’ ones.
“It is a trial,” said Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA referees committee at a media event on Wednesday. “What will be the future? We will see.
“We have said that we want to, let’s say, offer a new experience to TV viewers. We want to show something, let’s say, entertaining. I don’t think that we always need to think of the controversial or potentially controversial incidents on the field of play.”
It’s a tone that the Italian struck repeatedly as FIFA presented their innovations. He spoke of a “step-by-step” approach. Collina remained noncommittal about the refcam’s role in helping VAR with decision-making. He argued that the camera could provide unique angles and different perspectives but at the same time believed that it won’t capture anything that the referee would not see. All footage will be available for the VAR, confirmed Collina.
At the Club World Cup, footage being reviewed by VAR will be shown on the big screens.
While FIFA is rolling out innovations with referees talking to the fans and cameras to show what the referees see, it’s still a long way from broadcasting the explanations in real time to shed more transparency on the decision-making, as is the case in other major sports. Collina conceded: “We are a work in progress. Don’t forget that VAR, which may seem to have existed forever, had the first test in 2016, literally less than ten years ago.”
“At the moment, the announcement of the referees to explain what happened and which decision was taken as well as having access to the images is already good. In the future something more might be added but it needs to be done when we are sure this won’t affect the decision-making process.”
The International Football Association Board is the ultimate custodian of the rules of the game.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1749802178labto1749802178ofdlr1749802178owedi1749802178sni@i1749802178tnuk.1749802178ardni1749802178mas1749802178