The explanations of referees in situations involving the intervention of a video referee (VAR) will be checked for the first time in the I League, an official source from the Council of Arbitration (CA) of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) told Lusa this Friday.
The same source explained that this testing will take place at all stadiums for matches of the 25th round of the I League that are capable of hosting it.
The round in question, which runs from 8 to 11 March, will see Benfica host Estoril Praia, Sporting CP visit Arouca, both on Sunday, the day of the country’s legislative elections, and Porto visit Portimonense.
This system has already been tested in League II and Women’s League games, but the FPF Arbitration Board is continuing to test the system with the permission of FIFA and the International Board (IFAB), the gaming law regulator.
“The Arbitration Council, after authorization by IFAB and FIFA, has decided to use a system of communicating the final decision of the referee to the public in games of possible review of the decision or actual decisions, such as, for example, offsides or fouls committed inside or outside the penalty area, whether to signal a penalty or not,” – FPF emphasized once again.