Premier League to test Ref Cams on first weekend with view to permanent rollout
The Guardian has learned that the clubs have given their approval for the trial with the Premier League's broadcast partners, Sky Sports and TNT Sports, also supporting the innovation.
Fifa trialled Ref Cams at this summer's Club World Cup in the United States, with the chair of their refereeing committee Pierluigi Collina saying the experiment had gone 'beyond expectations'.
Following a post-tournament review the International Football Association Board (Ifab), which determines the laws of the game, gave their approval for the Ref Cam trial to be extended to domestic competitions last month. The Premier League subsequently trialled the new equipment in the final two matches of their pre-season Summer Series tournament in the US, between Bournemouth and West Ham, and Manchester United and Everton in Atlanta.
The Premier League and broadcasters have embraced the new technology as they believe it enriches the viewer's TV experience by giving them a unique view of the action. While the Ref Cams do not offer live action footage, they can be used to provide near-instant replays of match incidents from a different angle.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the refereeing body, is also supportive on the grounds that Ref Cams will give an extra insight into the difficulty of refereeing top-flight matches, as well as highlighting the fact that officials sometimes have a limited view of crucial incidents despite their best efforts.
Ref Cam technology involves referees wearing cameras on their right ear, connected to a microphone and transmitter, which sends video to the broadcasters. Two wires – one for the camera and the other for a microphone – are put on the back of the referee's shirt and a transmitter is placed in a shorts pocket.
PGMOL has been looking to innovate in this area for some time, with Jarred Gillett wearing a head-mounted Ref Cam during a Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Manchester United in a trial last year, although the footage was only broadcast in highlights programmes at a later date. The Premier League also trialled chest-mounted GoPro cameras in its US Summer Series two years ago without broadcasting the action during matches.
At the Club World Cup, the Ref Cam footage was shown on big screens at the stadiums, as well as being broadcast by global rights holder Dazn during the games, which the Premier League want to replicate. Having been impressed by the Club World Cup trial, Fifa is expected to approve the use of Ref Cams for next summer's World Cup.
The Premier League declined to comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Liverpool agree fee for new centre-back
Liverpool have agreed a £26m fee with Parma for Italian defender Giovanni Leoni. The 18-year-old centre-back is set to become their sixth major summer signing and take their spending in this window past £300m. Leoni will begin a medical on Merseyside on Thursday and will discuss personal terms, which are not expected to be a problem after he made it clear his preference was to join Liverpool. The Italy Under-19 international had also attracted interest from Internazionale as well as other Premier League clubs and will go straight into Liverpool's squad, with any talk of a loan move ruled out. He will join Liverpool after they stepped up their attempts to find a replacement for Jarell Quansah, who was sold to Bayer Leverkusen. The Premier League champions have also opened talks with Crystal Palace about England centre-back Marc Guehi. Their move for Leoni has no bearing on their interest in Guehi, with no sign so far they can agree a fee with Palace. Liverpool have had to use midfielders Ryan Gravenberch, Wataru Endo and Trey Nyoni and left-back Andy Robertson as centre-backs in pre-season after the sale of Quansah and when Joe Gomez was injured and Virgil van Dijk was ill. Head coach Arne Slot admitted after Sunday's Community Shield defeat to Palace that their defending was a concern, with nine goals conceded in their last four games. And their need for defensive reinforcements was also greater as Ibrahima Konate is in the last year of his contract. Now Leoni is set to join Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Giorgi Mamardashvili, whose transfer from Valencia was arranged last year, among their summer signings.
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Tottenham ‘disgusted' by racial abuse aimed at Mathys Tel after Super Cup defeat
Tottenham have said they are 'disgusted' after forward Mathys Tel received racial abuse on social media after Wednesday night's UEFA Super Cup defeat to Paris St Germain. Tel missed a spot-kick in a penalty shoot-out, which Tottenham lost 4-3 after they had surrendered a late 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 after 90 minutes. The France Under-21s international, whose loan deal from Bayern Munich was made permanent in a £30million deal in June, was targeted with abuse after firing his effort wide. Tottenham said in a statement: 'We are disgusted at the racial abuse that Mathys Tel has received on social media following last night's UEFA Super Cup defeat. 'Mathys showed bravery and courage to step forward and take a penalty, yet those who abuse him are nothing but cowards – hiding behind anonymous usernames and profiles to spout their abhorrent views. 'We will work with the authorities and social media platforms to take the strongest possible action against any individual we are able to identify. We stand with you, Mathys.' Tottenham led 2-0 until the 85th minute at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine, Italy, through goals from Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero before late efforts from Lee Kang-in and Goncalo Ramos hauled PSG level.
Scottish Sun
5 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
‘Disgusted' Tottenham release statement condemning ‘abhorrent' racist abuse towards Mathys Tel after penalty miss
Thomas Frank insisted he was "proud" of his team despite defeat Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TOTTENHAM have released a statement condemning vile racist abuse directed towards Mathys Tel following last night's Uefa Super Cup. Having led 2-0, Spurs went on to lose the final to Paris Saint-Germain in a penalty shoot-out, with Tel missing his mark from 12 yards. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Tottenham have released a statement after Mathys Tel was subjected to vile racist abuse Credit: Getty 3 Tel had missed a penalty in the decisive Uefa Super Cup shootout against PSG Credit: Shutterstock Editorial However, following the game, it has now been revealed that the attacker was subjected to horrific racist abuse on social media. This morning, Tottenham released a statement slamming those who aimed racial abuse at the 20-year-old as "cowards". It read: "We are disgusted at the racial abuse that Mathys Tel has received on social media following last night's UEFA Super Cup defeat. "Mathys showed bravery and courage to step forward and take a penalty, yet those who abuse him are nothing but cowards - hiding behind anonymous usernames and profiles to spout their abhorrent views. "We will work with the authorities and social media platforms to take the strongest possible action against any individual we are able to identify. "We stand with you, Mathys." Tel, a 79th-minute substitute for Mohammed Kudus, was one of two of Thomas Frank's players to miss from 12 yards. Micky van de Ven, who had scored the opening goal, had stepped up and missed directly before Tel in Tottenham's order of takers. Nuno Mendes ultimately sealed the tie in the Ligue 1 side's favour for them to win 4-3 and land their first-ever Super Cup title. But Frank, taking charge of his first competitive game as Spurs manager after joining from Brentford, insisted he was "proud" of his players' performance. Tottenham and PSG fans banned from buying anything but BEER ahead of Super Cup as bar leaves notes saying 'blame Uefa' He told reporters: "Very, very proud of the players, the team, the club, the fans. "I think the players gave everything against one of the best teams in the world, maybe the best. "I think for 75 to 80 minutes we were perfect, almost giving nothing away.' On the shootout, Frank continued: "It's down to the smallest of margins, like the flip of a coin. "I'd like to thank all the players who stepped up, were brave and took responsibility." Spurs will kick off their Premier League campaign this Saturday at home against Burnley.
