Referees could explain VAR decisions in stadiums

Leagues around the world could be given the green light to trial referees making in-stadium announcements to explain decisions after VAR reviews before the end of the year, but broadcasting live discussions on decisions looks less likely.

Referees' chief Howard Webb talked through selected audio clips from incidents in this season’s Premier League during Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football programme, as part of a drive from Professional Game Match Officials Limited for greater transparency and to "draw back the curtain" on the work of referees and VARs.

Monday night’s review could become a much more regular feature in the English game next term, but one question Webb repeatedly faced on Monday night and in subsequent interviews is why the conversations between on-pitch officials and VARs cannot be transmitted live.

Webb correctly pointed out that the laws of the game do not allow it. An application to trial live communications from referees in this season’s Coupe de France final and the 2023-24 Ligue 1 season was refused last month by the game’s law-making body, the International Football Association Board.

It is understood that any trial of the communication between on-field officials and VARs is unlikely to be considered for the time being, partly because of concerns raised by the refereeing community at international level.

Those concerns centre around how such conversations could be standardised, when referees communicate in different ways to their on-pitch assistants and to VARs, and the effect it may have on how referees behave, and the questions they ask of VARs and their assistants.

However, there is a high level of interest from associations and leagues around the world in giving referees the ability to explain their