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Premier League referees ‘to explain VAR decisions to fans’ from next season.
The Premier League is expected to receive approval to enact a rule requiring referees to notify supporters of VAR rulings in advance of the upcoming campaign.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB), which represents football’s legislators, has been testing this kind of approach for the past year in a number of international locations, including club matches in Portugal and Mexico. They are now planning to introduce the procedure to the Premier League.
The Daily Mail reports that IFAB will likely announce the rule’s introduction prior to their general meeting in March.
At their June meeting, the Premier League teams would then have to agree on the implementation of the new procedure.
Anthony Taylor, a regular Premier League official, tested the system in the Club World Cup in January 2023 before it was expanded to include the Under-20 World Cup, the Women’s World Cup, and a number of club leagues worldwide.
During games, trial officials would wear microphones, and upon a VAR review, they would link to a speaker to notify spectators in the stadium of the outcome. The VAR operators’ discussions were kept confidential.
Premier League referees’ chief Howard Webb has spoken openly about his desire to see fans watching the game given a greater understanding of the decisions made by VAR.
“We’re doing everything we can to be as transparent as we can,” he said in April 2023. “We’re going to do everything we can to draw the curtain back, we’re going to do some stuff post-game that’s not been done before fairly soon and then if we can do stuff in-game we’ll do it.
“We’ll see what we can do post-game, even in-game with the stadium audience, that’s certainly my intention and hopefully you’ll see some developments in the coming weeks.”