“This is a very important message for all football fans who want to see more clarity in refereeing decisions. Look closely at the FIFA Club World Cup and you will see a major change in how referees communicate VAR decisions.”Infantino said in a message he posted on his private Instagram account.
“For the first time, the referees will speak directly to the fans in the stadium and to the viewers at home through their microphones explaining why a decision has been made.”he added.
“This shows that FIFA wants to improve VAR clarity and improve education. Let’s hope you like it!” he concluded.
The lack of transparency in the decisions of the VAR (Video Assistant Referee in English) has been a common complaint since its inception, precisely in a Club World Cup, in the 2016 edition.
Players, fans and journalists often do not understand the reasoning behind accepting VAR decisions, creating confusion and controversy, precisely the reasons that led FIFA to create the device.
A change seemed essential and the International Board (IFAB), the institution that establishes the rules of soccer, paved the way on January 18 by accepting that referees explain their decisions in public.
Meeting at Wembley, the IFAB validated the VAR proposal for the Club World Cup and the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand (from July 20 to August 20).
Communications between the head referee and his video assistants will remain confidential, but the final decision will be explained to the public.
“We think it’s important in terms of transparency, especially for the fans in the stadium, who currently don’t get enough information about these decisions,” said Mark Bullingham, chief executive of the FA, which is part of the IFAB. .
The Club World Cup begins on Wednesday in Tangier with the first round duel between Al Ahly (Egypt) and Auckland City (New Zealand).
With seven participating teams, including the six FIFA confederation champions, Real Madrid and Flamengo will begin their participation in the semifinals. In addition to Tangier, the other venue will be Rabat.
How, who and when is the Club World Cup played?
Al Ahly from Egypt, runner-up in Africa, and Auckland City from New Zealand, champion from Oceania, will start tomorrow the Club World Cup, to be held in the cities of Tangier and Rabat, in Morocco and which has Real Madrid from Spain as candidates and Flamengo from Brazil.
The match for the first phase will take place from 4:00 p.m. in Argentina at the Tangier Stadium, it is a direct elimination match, in the event of a tie an additional 30 minutes will be played and if the equality continues, shots will be used from the penalty spot. Televisa DirectV Sports
The winner of this match will have as their rival in the quarterfinals the Seattle Sounders, from the United States, Concacaf champion and who has the Uruguayan Nicolás Lodeiro, former Boca Juniors.
Al Ahly comes to this match with a surprising streak of 21 games without losing in all competitions, with 17 wins and four draws, being the leader of the Egyptian league with 37 points, as well as the only undefeated player in 15 dates, with 11 wins and four draws.
Auckland City, which has Argentine Emiliano Tade on its squad, reached the Club World Cup by winning the Oceania Champions League by beating Venus from French Polynesia. The New Zealand team is the top winner of the Oceanic Confederation with a total of 10 titles and the team that has played this world cup the most times with nine appearances.
As for Tade, born in Santiago del Estero, he will play his eighth Club World Cup, a record.
In the quarterfinals, to be played on February 4, Seattle Saunders-Al Ahy/Auckland and Al Hilal (Asian Champion)-Wydad Casablanca (African Champion) will play.
In the next instance, the great candidates will debut, Real Madrid, as the winner of the UEFA Champions League and Flamengo as the winner of the Copa Libertadores, who should play the final expected by all if there were not some “bump”.
The semifinals will be played on February 8 between Flamengo-Al Hilal/Wydad Casablanca and Real Madrid-Seattle/Al Ahly/Auckalnd, leaving third place and the final for 11.
In this tournament, a regulatory novelty will be presented since the IFAB (entity in charge of soccer regulations) established that live communication to the public, either from the stadium or viewers, will be implemented by the referees of the decisions made through the VAR, as it happens in rugby and American football.
This will be the 18th. edition of the competition organized by FIFA and Real Madrid is the most successful with four titles, followed by Barcelona with three, Bayern Munich with two and Liverpool, Chelsea, Sao Paulo, Internacional (Brazil), Internacional (Italy), Milan and Manchester United with one.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
