The International Football Association Board (IFAB) moved closer towards introducing video replay technology in soccer to help referees avoid controversy and make better decisions.
On January 7th, IFAB released a statement recommending to their AGM that video trials begin in March and to plan for the system to become law within the next three years.
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“The board were unanimous in proposing this to the AGM with a strong recommendation that trials start next season”, said Steward Regan, the chief executive of the Scottish FA and their representative on IFAB. “There are many details to be finalized, and we think the experiments will last between two and three seasons.”
IFAB is the game’s universal decision-making body for the rules of soccer. It was first established in 1886 and consists of four members of FIFA and four members of the British associations. IFAB accepts recommendations and suggestions from all confederations and soccer associations if presented by one of the IFAB members.
The board is aiming for video technology to assist referees in making decisions during the game. The trials will be implemented across multiple competitions in world soccer, and a host of associations have declared their interest in beginning trials. However, referees will be restricted in the areas they will be able to use video technology. Questionable penalty decisions, close calls on goals, red card offenses and cases of mistaken identity, are the areas in which referees can summon video replays to make a more informed decision.
David Elleray, a former premier league referee, and a sitting member on the IFAB’s technical sub committee, said: “The main objective is to try to eliminate clear errors by the referee.”
This represents another step towards introducing more technology into the game. In 2012, IFAB approved the decision to introduce goal line technology, and the system has been successful so far, with no records of malfunction yet. Since then, many prominent players such as Aaron Ramsey, and distinguished managers such as Arsene Wenger have called on the rulers to begin using video replay technology to allow referees to make better decisions during the game.
Jonathan Ford, Wale’s FA Chief Executive and a sitting member on the IFAB Board, advised patience however: “We need to make the decision slowly and wisely with the right amount of information available to us. What we’ve tried to is nail some of the fundamental moments in football where we thinking video assistance can help a referee.” He explained that IFAB wants to collect the right data and make sure that the trials provide an accurate reading on whether the video technology will be successful during those fundamental moments in the game such as penalties goals, and red card offenses.
As David Elleray said on Thursday: “you will never eliminate all errors from the game.” However this definitely represents a step forward in trying to find a way to avoid controversial decisions.
With Michel Platini sidelined for the moment due to FIFA’s investigation, there is no major voice arguing against the introduction of more technology into the game. However, even if the trials prove to be successful, any change to the laws will require the vote of at least six IFAB members for the new law to be approved. While this is a welcome step towards integrating more technology into the game, we will have to wait, as ever in soccer, for another couple of seasons before we can see it implemented.