In an unprecedented move, the Football Association (FA) has granted central referees the mandate to announce any Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decisions to football supporters.
This new announcement marks the first time the initiative will be rolled out inside stadiums of England during the Carabao Cup semi-finals for the 2024/25 campaign.
According to the FA and the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) a refereeing authority, the move is part of the “commitment to transparency”.
The authorities hope it will provide greater clarity, understanding around key decisions and also embrace technological advancements for the benefit of match officials and fans.
“This latest pilot has the support of the English Football League (EFL) and follows earlier collaboration with Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in 2018 to trial VAR in EFL competitions ahead of its introduction in the Premier League,” FA said in a statement.
In this new development, referees will announce final decisions following a visit to the VAR pitchside monitor or when rulings are made on factual matters such as accidental handball by a goal scorer or offside offences where the attacker touches the ball.
The FA also revealed that following a decision to conduct in-game VAR decisions this season, referees have been preparing for the in-stadium announcements at training camps and have practiced at stadiums already.
This will be the first time spoken announcements are given to crowds if there are any such calls to make, thereby advancing from the existing practice by the Premier League Match Centre where explanations of VAR decisions in a game are posted to its X account.
Both legs in each of the EFL cup semi-final games where Arsenal will play Newcastle United and Tottenham play Liverpool will all be included in the trial. The first legs will be played on January, 7 and 8, with the return fixtures on February 5 and 6, 2025.
The in-stadium VAR decision announcements were first trialed during the 2023 Women’s World Cup and were later introduced in the rugby union and the American football league.
