A majority of leagues around the world want conversations between referees and VARs played out live to broadcasters, a survey has found.
The Premier League was one of 41 leagues to take part in the survey by the World Leagues Forum, an umbrella body currently chaired by Premier League chief executive Richard Masters.
The Premier League has declined to comment on whether it supported the move on VAR in the anonymised survey, but 25 of the 41 leagues were in favour of it.
WLF’s Supervisory Board met in London on 28 June: Match calendar addressed with the issue of international competitions overload. Laws of the Game also discussed. The survey conducted across leagues on testing changes is on our website.
Media Release:
— World Leagues Forum (@WorldLeaguesWLF)
One respondent said: “(Having an) audio feed open for broadcasters between referee and VAR is a priority.”
Using the two-way audio feed live is currently not allowed under the laws of the game, which are set by the International Football Association Board.
Last month, Professional Game Match Officials Limited’s chief refereeing officer Howard Webb appeared on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football programme to talk through some incidents from the season where VAR had come into play, allowing audiences to hear for the first time the discussions between the referee and the VAR.
The PA news agency understands PGMOL is considering more regular insights into the discussions between referees and VARs next season as part of a move towards greater transparency.
