In-stadium VAR announcements are to be trialled for the first time in English football in the Carabao Cup semi-finals next week.
Arsenal’s first leg at home against Newcastle will be the first game to trial the announcements, when a referee explains over the stadium’s public address system their final decision after a visit to the pitch-side monitor.
There will also be announcements upon the conclusion of factual matters, such as accidental handball by a goalscorer or offside judgments. Only the final decision will be announced in the stadium and not the entire VAR process that Howard Webb, the head of referees for Professional Game Match Officials Limited, runs through on the Mic’d Up programme.
The pilot scheme, which accompanies the arrival of VAR into this stage of the Carabao Cup, is part of PGMOL’s attempts to provide more transparency and understanding around key decisions in the game. Referees have been preparing for its introduction by taking part in match-related exercises at stadiums of professional clubs. The technology has the support of the EFL, which collaborated with PGMOL on trialling VAR in 2018 before it was rolled out into the Premier League.
In-stadium VAR announcements were trialled at the Club World Cup and the Under-20 World Cup before being used for the first time at a major event at the 2023 Women’s World Cup. It is hoped the technology will bring more clarity to fans in the stadium and to television viewers at home.
The trial will run over both legs of the Carabao Cup semi-finals, with Newcastle visiting the Emirates Stadium next Tuesday and Tottenham hosting Liverpool the following night. The second legs are at St James’ Park on 5 February and Anfield on 6 February.
