FIFA referees boss Busacca wants shorter video delays

‘We have to improve that’

SAINT PETERSBURG, June 27, (Agencies): FIFA’s referees chief said Monday he wants less delays caused by the video assistant referee and to reduce disruptions from the system being tested for next year’s World Cup.

World football’s governing body is using the Confederations Cup in Russia to test the video assistant referee (VAR) system for the first time at a major senior international tournament.

Qualified referees review gamechanging incidents — goals, penalty decisions, red card decisions and cases of mistaken identity — during matches, which gives the referee on the pitch the chance to correct decisions.

FIFA has yet to decide whether the VAR system will be used at next year’s World Cup in Russia.

The system has proven controversial at the Confederations Cup for breaking up play. A VAR review meant there was a confusing fourminute break in Germany’s 3-1 win over Cameroon on Sunday in Sochi.

Colombian referee Wilmar Roldan initially booked Sebastien Siani for a high challenge on Germany’s Liverpool midfielder Emre Can, still not second nature. “After the conclusion of the tournament, we will work for the future. We have to.

“We will not be perfect, but we will reduce mistakes and players will know that they are under scrutiny.”

Busacca also said that in the future, fans could be able to hear conversations between the referee and the VAR, as happens in other sports, to explain why decisions are made.

FIFA said the re-laid pitch at the St Petersburg stadium had sustained damage but was being treated before it hosts the final of the Confederations on Sunday.

The 68,000-seat stadium, the home of Russian football powerhouse Zenit, will be a flagship venue at the 2018 World Cup. But the pitch had to be hastily re-laid after it was cut up during the inaugural match there in April.

Prior to the problems with the grass, issues with the stadium’s retractable pitch technology also caused the playing surface to vibrate, rendering it unfit for matches. Colin Smith, director of competitions for global soccer body FIFA, told reporters that the stadium’s “young pitch” had sustained damage from the matches, as well as from warm-up sessions.

“We did significant top dressing last night,” Smith told reporters at a news conference in St Petersburg. “Tomorrow we will fully cover the pitch and really regulate the temperature and the growing conditions in there. We’re confident that it will be a good playing surface for the final.”

Smith said greenhouse structures had been installed over the pitch’s weaker areas and grow lights have been permanently set up. He added that rainy weather conditions had “not helped the growth of the problem areas” on the pitch.

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo and coach Fernando Santos both criticized the pitch after their 4-0 win over New Zealand on Saturday, with Ronaldo telling Portuguese media the grass was too long.

Santos said the teams were prevented from training on it the day before the game.

“Very importantly, these improvements will also serve as very valuable lessons looking ahead to next year’s FIFA World Cup,” he said.

Busacca