The referee explains the VAR decision on the microphone

It happened for the first time in the opening match between New Zealand and Norway: the referee announced his decision after a VAR objection during the match.

In the Women’s World Cup, decisions are explained by referees via stadium microphones based on video evidence. After successful attempts at the Club World Cup and Men’s U-20 World Cup, this opportunity will now also be used in the tournament to be held in Australia and New Zealand (from July 20 to August 20).

The new rule appeared for the first time in the opening match of the World Cup between New Zealand and Norway (1-0). In the 90th minute, the video assistant plays: The Norway defender receives the ball inside the penalty area. After a radio report, referee Yoshimi Yamashita ran to the sidelines and looked at the scene again.

A short time later, she turned and explained her decision to award a handball and a penalty kick to New Zealand over the microphone. Then she pointed to the place. Rhea Percival then missed the penalty and missed the chance to make it 2-0 to New Zealand.

Since the decision taken by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) last January, a twelve-month testing phase has begun in selected international tournaments. Officials are supposed to explain their decisions over the stadium’s loudspeakers after being reviewed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). The NFL takes a similar approach.

This aims to make decisions more transparent and understandable. Discussions between the on-field referee and the video assistant remain confidential, but their outcome must be explained briefly. Until now, when VAR was used, fans in stadiums only knew what was checked and what the result of the check was through the information on the screens.