Refs want to make call on replays
Senior officials want on-field crews to have access to video reviews
LONDON — Antoine Griezmann headed the ball into the net and was in full celebration mode with his France teammates when referee Felix Swayer pinned a finger into his left ear to block out the stadium noise.
An assistant in front of a bank of monitors was assessing replays and had some bad news for Griezmann. Swayer was told via his earpiece that a player was offside in the buildup.
The goal was then ruled out, without Swayer seeing a replay. But that won’t necessarily be the case by the time video replays are fully approved to be rolled out across soccer.
For now, the experimental phase is still in full flow, but if refereeing leaders get their way officials should always have access to the footage themselves around the field.
“The subjective decisions should be made by the on-field referee because they have got the feel for the game,” Mike Riley, general manager of English refereeing organization, told The Associated Press. “They can put it in the context of everything else. So as part of the process we have got to work out how we can do that as effectively as possible ... without interrupting the flow of the game.”
The International Football Association Board, the game’s law-making body, is in its second year of trials with various versions of video assistant referees (VAR). Some games, like the France-Spain friendly, do not allow the referee to evaluate incidents and instead by rely on the VAR.
But VAR could end up only ruling on what Riley describes as “decisions of fact,” such as whether a ball was inside or outside the penalty area.
Ultimately, if you are appointing one of the top referees to preside over a major game, that person is seen as ideal for making the big calls, according to IFAB.
“Fundamentally we are told very much by players and coaches they want the referee to be making the most important decisions,” IFAB technical director David Elleray said. “They don’t know who is in a van out in the car park or 300 miles away in a match centre.”
Soccer’s lawmakers only envisage video replays being used to correct game-changing decisions involving four situations: penalties being awarded, red cards, cases of mistaken identity and goals being scored.
That situation arose twice in the Stade de France on Tuesday as France lost 2-0 to Spain. After Griezmann’s goal was disallowed, video replays worked against France again but in Spain’s favour when an incorrect offside call against Gerard Deulofeu was overturned and his goal stood.
Swayer again relied on the information from a colleague benefiting from replays.
“Nicola Rizzoli was appointed to referee the last World Cup final because he is the best referee,” Elleray said. “But if actually the two most important decisions in the match are made by somebody watching a TV screen ... the most important person is the man you put behind the TV screen not the man on the field.”
The challenge is finding a way for referees to view replays without lengthening the delay. For now the technology isn’t satisfactory for officials to use wearable devices and receive footage in real time.