Referees at the Club World Cup will wear eye-level cameras to finally allow fans to see exactly what the officials are looking at during a soccer match.
Well... not quite.
FIFA has announced the innovation will be implemented at its newly-expanded tournament, which kicks off in Miami on Saturday. But on closer inspection, the technology appears to be more about improving the experience for television viewers than improving the game.
For instance, only “non-controversial” images will be shown during the match. FIFA has not specified what that means, but don't look for goal-scoring incidents and potential red cards to be included.
The camera will be attached to the referee's earpiece.
“It is a trial,” Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA referees committee, said Wednesday. "What will be the future? We will see.
“We have said that we want to, let’s say, offer a new experience to TV viewers. We want to show something, let’s say, entertaining. I don’t think that we always need to think of the controversial or potentially controversial incidents on the field of play.”
Footage will be checked before being broadcast, rather than shown live.
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FIFA says the refcam view could be used to show unique angles of goals scored and offer different perspectives of the game that normal cameras cannot see. But if restricted to that, it would appear to be a missed opportunity in a sport that is increasingly using advances in technology to improve the accuracy and transparency of decision-making.
Another innovation at the Club World Cup — a month-long tournament staged in the United States and featuring 32 of the best soccer teams in the world — is to show footage being reviewed by VAR for the first time on big screens inside the stadium. In theory, the refcam would make referees more accountable for their decisions by allowing fans to see exactly what the official saw before making a call.
But it is not even clear how much it would be used to help VAR.
While Collina said all footage would be available to the VAR, he questioned how useful the refcam would be in such circumstances.
“Honestly, can you believe that a camera position just besides the referee’s eyes can see something that the referee’s eyes cannot see? Honestly, I think it’s difficult to believe,” he said.
FIFA, itself, has made clear where it believes the footage would be of most use, saying the test was designed to “explore whether the new camera angle can improve the experience for those watching on television and online by showcasing the referee’s perspective.”
It added that the tests would be used to make guidelines for future use.
“Step by step” Collina said. "We need to do something new and the simpler the better."
Time wasting
FIFA also announced a clampdown on time wasting by goalkeepers at the Club World Cup.
Previous rules specified keepers can't hold onto the ball for longer than six seconds, but Collina said that was frequently being flouted.
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The time limit has now been extended to eight seconds, but referees will be much stricter in enforcement.
The referee will also count down from five seconds with their hand to indicate the time remaining. If a keeper holds onto the ball for longer than eight seconds, a corner kick will be awarded to the opposition, rather than an indirect free kick, which was the previous punishment.