The Council of Arbitration (CA) of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) has received permission to explain the referee’s decisions in real time using a video referee (VAR), a source connected to the process told Lusa this Thursday.
According to the same source, the permission from FIFA and the International Council (IFAB) will allow the referee to explain in the stadium in real time the actual decision he has made through the sound system, for example in the case of a free kick. inside or outside the area, or a throw for offside.
The system already exists in other sports such as rugby and has already been trialled by FIFA in competitions such as the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
The approval from FIFA and IFAB allows Portugal to become one of the pioneers in moving to the testing phase of this system, although it is not yet known when this will begin.
Since September 2023, communication between referees and video referees (VARs) for Portuguese First League games has been carried out through a monthly television program.
Previously, on July 24, a spokesperson for the FPF defended the disclosure for “pedagogical purposes in accordance with what it has always considered to be good practice,” then stating that: “In the meantime, CA will be releasing once a month audio recordings of conversations between by on-field referees and VAR in all games judged on the screen available on the field.”
“The AC is of the opinion that the dissemination of audio recordings helps to fully understand the function of refereeing,” said in defense of the body headed by José Fontela Gómez.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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