The ball is now in the LFP’s court. FIFA has authorized France to experiment this season with the sound system for central referees during decisions taken after the use of video assistance, according to Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation (FFF). It is now up to the Professional Football League to act so that this new feature arrives in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, while a financial problem, linked to the installation costs, had been mentioned at the start of the season.
“There were experiences at the U20 World Cup in Argentina and the Women’s World Cup in Australia. We jumped at the chance to say that this improvement in dialogue between referees and the public had to be in our competitions. (…) Under the leadership of the refereeing director, our referees were trained very quickly. Now, it is up to the LFP, if it wishes, if it can, to generalize this to the elite,” Philippe Diallo told journalists on Tuesday, September 10.
Also seen at the Olympic Games, this partial sound system allows referees to address the public in the stands and to television viewers. The procedure only allows this speaking in the event of recourse to video assistance (VAR).
IFAB says no to full sound system
For the time being, there is no question of a complete sound system that would allow viewers to hear the referee during the entire match. “We came up against a refusal from the IFAB (the body that governs the laws of the game, editor’s note)”, specified Philippe Diallo, in favour of “all these innovations that can allow referees to provide better education and avoid unnecessary tensions”.
In August, Antony Gautier, director of refereeing at the FFF, spoke about the project of partial sound for referees. “The League will also give its green light,” he assured. He also argued for, as in the Premier League, decisions related to VAR to be displayed on screens. “We need to make the exchanges between the referee and the video assistant directly accessible to the general public, explain how a decision is reached. This explanation needs to be broadcast on the stadium screens. There are still technical problems to be resolved, this is the responsibility of the Professional Football League (LFP),” he declared.
- RMC Sport
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