21-03-2025
Referee mic to be broadcast in Premiership stadium
Refereeing decisions will be broadcast over stadium public address systems in the Premiership for the first time, starting at Bristol Bears' game against Exeter on trial - which will enable fans to hear the reasoning behind decisions between referees and television match officials - will feature in select fixtures across the league including the Premiership final at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium on 14 June.A similar trial was run in 2021 during the Premiership Rugby Cup and used at Kingsholm during a Gloucester match and London Irish's Madejski microphones are already broadcast into stadiums during international fixtures, including the Six Nations and Autumn Nation Series."Being able to hear refereeing decisions clearly explained over the PA system has added hugely to the in-stadium experience for fans during the Autumn Nations Series and Six Nations and we will explore further opportunities across the league," said Guinness Premiership Rugby's chief growth officer Rob Dickson will be the referee for Saturday's match, which kicks off at 17:30 GMT at Ashton chief operating officer Tom Tainton said one of the club's "key objectives" was to make the game "more accessible to new supporters"."This innovation will not only add to the matchday experience, but help to inform and educate fans in the stadium," he said.A player microphone was used for the first time in January last year during a Premiership match between Bristol and Bath, with audio being broadcast over television also began wearing cameras at the same time, to show more of a close-up view of the match action to those watching at home.
