In-stadium referee clarifications apparently coming to the Bundesliga next weekend

The clarification of VAR and refereeing decisions via in-stadium loudspeakers is coming to the Bundesliga. Kicker reports that, interestingly, this new innovation will be coming to the German first and second divisions as early as next weekend.

All of this is set to be confirmed by a panel of DFB/DFL officials on Monday afternoon. Trials of the new system will take place in both first and second-division stadiums.

The fact that refereeing decisions – with VAR in the mix – often leave the live audience in the dark has long been an issue in football. In fact, two Bundesliga fixtures this past weekend (Leipzig-Leverkusen and Dortmund-Bremen) contained prime examples of why fans in the stadiums might need extra clarification. Both matches featured complex scenes that even live broadcasters had difficulty sorting out.

The practice of having referees talk directly to the crowd via stadium-PA wired microphones has long been a common practice in American football. In the “global game”, FIFA actually wired-up match officials during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. In that tournament, all VAR decisions were communicated to the crowd via the refs.

Football’s international regulatory authority (IAFB) gave the green light to pilot projects in the men’s game last March. The Portuguese top division has already experimented with the idea. DFB and DFL match officials participated in a brief workshop testing out the equipment during their own predatory camp last summer.

Further details will be revealed later.

GGFN | Peter Weis