Wed | Jan 8, 2025

English football joins the party

VAR in-stadium announcement debuts in English League Cup semis

Published:Wednesday | January 8, 2025 | 12:09 AM
Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli (second right) reacts after a missed opportunity during the English League Cup semifinal first leg football match between Arsenal and Newcastle United at the Emirates stadium in London yesterday.
AP
Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli (second right) reacts after a missed opportunity during the English League Cup semifinal first leg football match between Arsenal and Newcastle United at the Emirates stadium in London yesterday.

AP:

THE NFL has been doing it since the 1970s.

Yesterday, English football finally joined the party by having referees explain controversial rulings to fans in the stadium via a wireless microphone.

The English League Cup semifinals were chosen to pilot a system in which officials use the public address system to communicate directly with fans after incidents involving Video Assistant Referees (VAR).

Arsenal’s semifinal first leg against Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium became the first to trial the system.

The English Football League, which runs the League Cup, said the announcements would “provide greater clarity and understanding around key decisions.”

In-stadium announcements were in place at the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 and other FIFA events.

In the Premier League such decisions are communicated to supporters via big screens or the PA system. They confirm if a VAR check is in place and the final decision.

Under the trialed process, the referee will communicate the final decision directly to the crowd after reviewing an incident on a sideline monitor. Incidents such as accidental handball by a goalscorer or offsides will also be communicated.

Only the final decision will be announced.

While in-stadium announcements are a recent introduction to football, they have been widely used in other sports.

NFL referees were given wireless microphones in 1975 to explain penalty decisions. The NFL had an initial replay system from 1986-91, abandoned it, then reinstalled it for the 1999 season. The NHL added a replay system in 1991 and the NBA in 2002.

Major League Baseball began in-park announcements during replay reviews in 2022 and microphones have long-been used by rugby referees.

Newcastle won the first leg 2-0, courtesy of goals from Alexander Isak in the 37th minute and Anthony Gordon in the 51st.

The English football trial includes both of the two-legged League Cup semifinals.

Tottenham plays Liverpool in the other semifinal, with the first leg being staged at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium today.