From January 1, 2025, the Haute-Loire Football District will equip its referees with on-board cameras during high-risk matches. An experimental device tested as a preventative measure.
Should referees be equipped with on-board cameras? The president of the Haute-Loire Football District, Laurent Lerat, has been wondering since the start of the season. And in view of the numerous events that occurred on the grounds during the first months of competition, the question was resolved.
Indeed, several matches were stopped for acts of physical or verbal violence, or even general fights between supporters and players. An excess for the Haute-Loire District Council which decided, on November 6, to vote unanimously for the adoption of two on-board cameras for referees, during so-called “sensitive” matches.
“It can give us peace of mind”
The system will be deployed, on an experimental basis, from January 1 until the end of the season during departmental matches. Which ones? The ethics commission will decide a few days before the meetings. “It’s a certain financial cost for the District but if it can give us peace of mind…” confides Laurent Lerat.
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The implementation of this system also reassures the referees' commission, whose president, Raphaël Robert, is very favorable to the experiment. A test which is not a first in the region. Loire, the neighboring department, equipped its referees in 2017, and the feedback is extremely positive. “Since they have this in the Loire, they have been delighted. The device allows us to capture images but also sound, which is reassuring,” explains the District President. He points out that the cameras are used for prevention purposes and that, if nothing happens, the images will be deleted after 30 days. Enough to reassure the few refractory people.
Romain Fiore
