THE Football Association have called on Robot Referees to be part of English football.
Semi-automated offside technology was used at the Qatar 2022 World Cup finals and is deployed by the top officials in the Champions League.
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Premier League referees’ chief Howard Webb has come under fire after several cock-ups involving the use of VAR in high-profile matches.
Mark Bullingham – the chief executive of the FA – has now waded into the debate and asked for more technology to be considered by officiating teams.
Bullingham told a Leaders Week conference in London: “You should never have a scenario where you take away from the experience in the stadium or at home.
“We’ve got to be really, really careful for that.
“Of course people used to complain about decisions being made wrong and it’s important to get decisions right, so that’s the starting point.
“In terms of technology, the question is: Are there ways you can make the decisions quicker?
“Because I think everyone hates that long pause in the stadium or at home.
“You’re seeing technological innovations in terms of, for example, semi-autonomous offsides. Can it eventually go autonomous?
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“And is that going to be a step where you get completely accurate decisions but made very, very quickly?
“So if you could do that, well that would be better for the fans. That’s an area absolutely to keep exploring.
“Of course, we’d look at any idea that comes through but really you’ve got to be quite careful not to interrupt the flow of the game any further than that.”
One the biggest screw-ups this season involved Luis Diaz having a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside for Liverpool in their 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on September 30.
The audio of the bungling VAR discussion which led to that by error was eventually released by the PGMOL.
Usually punters are kept in the dark about conversations that happen with the on-field referee.
Speaking in general terms, Bullingham is in favour of more transparency for those in the stadiums and watching on TV.
Bullingham said: “My personal point of view is that I’d love to get to the point where the fans have more access to the conversation that takes place between the VAR and the referee.
“I also understand the referees’ perspective on that, they’ve got an incredibly hard job already.
“Sometimes there are language issues and so particularly in international tournaments, they don’t want anything taken out of context.
“So I understand the pressure they’re under. I think what we’ve done already is make a step forwards by having decisions that are made now explained.
“That’s the trial going on at Fifa tournaments and I’m confident that that will then be rolled out more broadly.
“I think that’s a step in the direction of giving more transparency to fans on decisions. It’s a complicated area but I do think that’s the direction of travel.”
- The FA are considering ways of changing the format of the women’s FA Cup, which is a traditional knockout competition like the men’s event. Chelsea are the current holders after beating Manchester United in the final in front of 77,000 fans in May.
