Dutch to test video referee in cup match

A video referee will be used next week for the first time ever in an official competition match in a ground-breaking test by The Netherlands’ top Eredivisie league, officials announced on Friday.

“It will be the first test of its kind in an official competition match,” Royal Dutch Football Federation (KNVB) spokesman Hans van Kastel told AFP, ahead of the clash between mighty Amsterdam-based Ajax and league minnows Willem II. Ajax, currently in third, will face Willem II in the southern university city of Tilburg, where the technology will go “live”, the KNVB said.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) approved video technology testing in March to be carried out over a two-year period.

Video technology had its first operational test earlier this month during France’s 3-2 friendly win over Italy in Bari-hailed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino as a “new page in history.”

Infantino hopes that “video assistant referees” will be used at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. KNVB operational director Gijs de Jong said the federation has been working since 2011 “to introduce the video assistant referee in football.”

The KNVB tested the system off-line during at least 24 matches last season, it said on its website.

The decision to introduce video technology follows the widespread introduction of goal-line technology, which was used by FIFA at the 2014 World Cup and by UEFA in this year’s Champion’s League and Europa League finals.

The assistant video referee is there to help referees during difficult decisions such as penalties, free kicks and off-side rulings.

However, the referee’s decision is final and cannot be reversed by the video assistant once the whistle has blown, even if the referee has made a mistake.