English Football Association (FA) boss Mark Bullingham says the game’s lawmakers remain divided on whether the conversations between referees and VAR officials should be shared with fans at home and in the stadium.
How the video replay team communicates with the on-field referee has been a topic of debate after the “significant human error” made by the VAR officials during Tottenham Hotspur’s contentious 2-1 win over Liverpool, when a Luis Diaz goal was incorrectly ruled out for offside.
The fallout from that match has led to PGMOL, the body responsible for referees in English football, changing the protocol for how VAR officials communicate their decisions to the on-field referee.
In an appearance on Sky Sports programme Match Officials: Mic’d Up on Tuesday, PGMOL chief refereeing officer Howard Webb said VAR officials have been told to clarify their decisions by adding some information when they communicate them. For example, instead of just saying “check complete”, VAR officials must now say “check complete, goal confirmed”.
But the Spurs-Liverpool furore, combined with several other VAR-related controversies, has led many to ask why these conversations are not shared with fans in real time, as they are in sports such as cricket and rugby union. It is a question that IFAB, the organisation responsible for the game’s laws, has considered, too.
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PGMOL released an audio exchange featuring VAR Darren England after the Luis Diaz error (Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
Speaking to journalists at the UEFA announcement of the hosts for the 2028 and 2032 men’s European Championships on Tuesday, Bullingham said the topic had come up at several IFAB meetings.
“Generally there is a split in the room over that and quite often it is between the marketing and commercial people and the referees,” he said.
“Our point of view from the marketing and commercial perspective would normally be that transparency is a really good thing, and we want to have fans to have the maximum experience.
“We have taken a step in that direction with the announcing of the decision by the referee and I think that is a step forward — fans in the stadium should never know less than fans watching on TV.
“I think that will continue to be a question over time because the greater transparency shows how difficult the referee’s job is and it has worked in other sport.”
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However, the FA’s chief executive explained that some at IFAB are worried this might make the referee’s job even harder, particularly at international games where the officials might not share the same first language.
“We are taking a step in the right direction with announcing the decision and explaining why it has been reached — let’s see if that leads to further progression,” he added.
Bullingham’s views on the matter are important as IFAB is comprised of the four British football associations and FIFA, the game’s world governing body. Changes to football’s laws can only be made with the support of at least six votes at IFAB’s annual general meeting (AGM) each March. The four British associations have one vote each, while FIFA has four votes.
While the English FA might be leaning towards greater transparency in the VAR process, it is certainly not inclined to letting VARs try to correct every mistake made by the on-field officials.
“I know that is something we would discuss in the next IFAB (meeting),” said Bullingham, who will host IFAB’s annual business meeting — at which the AGM agenda will be set — in London on November 28. “I think we would be really reluctant to have a game that was stopped a lot more than it currently is, but that will be a proper discussion.”
What is more likely to change is another of the issues that came up in the Spurs-Liverpool example. The VAR in question, Darren England, eventually realised his mistake but play had already resumed which, under the laws of the game, meant it was too late to correct it.
IFAB, which is based in Zurich, is already looking at ways to refine the VAR process and giving officials more leeway to correct clear mistakes would be a sensible improvement.
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(Top photo: Getty Images)
