A whopping number of leagues worldwide are in favor of live broadcasts featuring conversations between referees and VARs, according to a recent survey. The World Leagues Forum, headed by Premier League chief executive Richard Masters, conducted the survey, with participation from 41 leagues, including the prestigious Premier League.
While the Premier League has chosen to remain tight-lipped regarding its stance on VAR in the survey, it's worth noting that out of the 41 leagues, 25 expressed their support for the proposal. The anonymous survey even quoted a respondent who emphasized the importance of an "audio feed open for broadcasters between referee and VAR."
Currently, utilizing a two-way audio feed in real-time is prohibited by the laws of the game, which are determined by the International Football Association Board. However, just last month, Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), made an appearance on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football programme. During the segment, Webb analysed various incidents from the season involving VAR, allowing viewers to eavesdrop on the discussions between referees and the VAR.
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According to sources from the PA news agency, PGMOL is contemplating providing more frequent insights into the conversations between referees and VARs in the upcoming season. This move is part of an endeavor to promote greater transparency within the sport.
The survey revealed that 30 out of 41 football leagues supported the practice of verbally communicating the final decisions of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) reviews to fans and television audiences, either through the referee or the fourth official.
FIFA, the global governing body of the sport, has been conducting trials of this system in its competitions, starting with the Club World Cup held in Morocco earlier this year. Currently, final decisions can already be visually communicated through large screens present at the venues.
Interestingly, more leagues were in favour of broadcasting live interactions between referees, coaches, and players than those opposed to it, with 19 leagues supporting the idea compared to 17 against it, while five remained undecided. Regarding deliberate handballs, 25 leagues agreed that a goal should be awarded if a player deliberately stopped the ball from crossing the line with their hand.
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