Pierluigi Collina has said supporters will get a “new experience” at this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup with footage from the referee’s body camera available to broadcasters during matches.
Fans could get the perspective of goals, free kicks, tackles and attacking moves from the view of the referee immediately after they happen.
Body cameras have been trialled by officials in grassroots in England over the past two seasons as a tool to reduce abuse directed at referees.
The IFAB has also permitted their use in limited senior competitions for training and education purposes. At senior level, it forms part of the referee’s headset with the camera attached to the ear.
The Bundesliga used a “RefCam” last season in a game between Eintracht Frankfurt and VfL Wolfsburg to provide insights into the referee’s perspective and the work of the VAR in a short documentary.
At the end of last season, Jarred Gillett had his every move recorded when Crystal Palace played Manchester United in the Premier League, once again for a future documentary.
The IFAB has supported a request to test the body cameras in FIFA competitions to identify possible future use, and they will be used at the Club World Cup in the United States.
FIFA believes it will deliver a new dynamic for fans, as well training opportunities for referees.
“We think that it is a good chance to offer the viewers a new experience, in terms of images taken from a perspective, from an angle of vision which was never offered before,” said Collina, chairman of FIFA’s Referees Committee. “It also has a purpose in terms of referee coaching. Because, of course, having the possibility to see what the referee sees is important in the debriefing, to evaluate how the call was made by the referee, which was his view, and so on.
“So it’s a combination of new experience for broadcasters and also for coaching purposes.”
After the trials at grassroots level had a positive impact on player behaviour, the IFAB is to continue with the testing and promote the use of body cameras.
The Club World Cup referees from UEFA attended a seminar in Zurich this week, following on from earlier events in Dubai and Buenos Aires, to prepare for the tournament.
“[It’s the] first time ever to have the best clubs… from each corner of the world competing,” Collina added. “So it’s, I would say, an extra responsibility for us, for refereeing, because we want to have our referees ready in the best conditions when the competition will start.
“And we are aware that a high standard of refereeing is key to having a successful competition.
“We are following [and] monitoring their fitness, their health. Basically, we try to provide them all the support they may need. Our objective, our goal is to have the FIFA ‘Team One’ at the very best of their conditions when the ball will start rolling in Miami.”
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