The Premier League have been given the green light for referees to explain VAR decisions to fans during matches in a significant change that is set to be introduced next season. Mail Sport has learned that football's lawmakers IFAB have given approval for referees to offer explanations in league fixtures following successful trials in club matches in Mexico and Portugal, with confirmation expected before their AGM in March. Premier League referees' chief Howard Webb has been a strong advocate of greater transparency since joining PGMOL in 2022 and supports officials being able communicating their decisions to fans in stadiums. Moving to a more open system similar to that used in rugby would require the approval of the top-flight clubs, with the final decision to be taken at the Premier League AGM in June.
IFAB approval for in-game explanations from referees follows 12 months of trials in various competitions all over the world. Referees including Anthony Taylor first used the system 12 months ago at the Club World Cup in Morocco before the trial was extend to the men's under 20 World Cup and the women's World Cup later in the year. Further trials have taken place in club football in Mexico's Liga MX and in the Portuguese League Cup this month leading to IFAB giving their approval. The Premier League are likely to introduce a system similar to that used at last year's Women's World Cup in Australia, where mic'd up referees announced and explained their decisions to the crowd after watching a series of replays on a pitch-side monitor. The explanations given by referees in the trials to date have been quite basic such as 'following a review, 9 was fouled by 12, penalty to England,' but have helped remove some of the confusion and frustration experienced by fans in stadiums since VAR was introduced. Despite this change there are no plans to broadcast conversations between the referee and other match officials during matches, although that audio will be available to broadcasters to use after games.
Source: Daily Mail
