Latest news with #Collina
Dubai Eye
15-04-2025
- Sport
- Dubai Eye
FIFA to debut body cameras for referees at Club World Cup
FIFA unveiled its team of 117 match officials on Monday for the Club World Cup 2025 and said referees would wear body cameras and enforce stricter goalkeeper time-wasting rules at the tournament to be staged across the United States. The FIFA Referees Committee appointed the officials from 41 member associations - 35 referees, 58 assistant referees and 24 video match officials - for the June 14 to July 13 event. Body cameras will provide fans with unprecedented views of on-field action, FIFA said, while goalkeepers who hold the ball beyond eight seconds will now see opponents awarded corner kicks rather than indirect free kicks. "We think that it is a good chance to offer the viewers a new experience, in terms of images taken from a perspective, from an angle of vision, which was never offered before," said Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee. "It also has a purpose in terms of referee coaching because, of course, having the possibility to see what the referee sees is important in the debriefing." Collina highlighted the historic nature of the appointments for the expanded tournament featuring 32 teams from all six FIFA confederations and spanning 12 stadiums in 11 US host cities. "The selected referees are among those who have the privilege to be part of this for the first time, so I'm sure that all the match officials will be thrilled," he said. "We are coming from high-standard performances delivered during the last FIFA tournaments. So the bar is higher and when you set the bar higher it's more difficult to keep the standard. But we are working very hard and 'Team One' will make a solid contribution to the success of this exciting competition."
Reuters
14-04-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
FIFA to debut body cameras for referees at Club World Cup
April 14 - FIFA unveiled its team of 117 match officials, opens new tab on Monday for the inaugural Club World Cup and said referees would wear body cameras and enforce stricter goalkeeper time-wasting rules at the tournament to be staged across the United States. The FIFA Referees Committee appointed the officials from 41 member associations - 35 referees, 58 assistant referees and 24 video match officials - for the June 14 to July 13 event. Body cameras will provide fans with unprecedented views of on-field action, FIFA said, while goalkeepers who hold the ball beyond eight seconds will now see opponents awarded corner kicks rather than indirect free kicks. "We think that it is a good chance to offer the viewers a new experience, in terms of images taken from a perspective, from an angle of vision, which was never offered before," said Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee. "It also has a purpose in terms of referee coaching because, of course, having the possibility to see what the referee sees is important in the debriefing." Collina highlighted the historic nature of the appointments for the expanded tournament featuring 32 teams from all six FIFA confederations and spanning 12 stadiums in 11 U.S. host cities. "The selected referees are among those who have the privilege to be part of this for the first time, so I'm sure that all the match officials will be thrilled," he said. "We are coming from high-standard performances delivered during the last FIFA tournaments. So the bar is higher and when you set the bar higher it's more difficult to keep the standard. But we are working very hard and 'Team One' will make a solid contribution to the success of this exciting competition."
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
FIFA announces refereeing innovation for the Club World Cup 🌎
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here. World Cup referees will wear body cameras, a novelty announced by FIFA on Tuesday (8). Advertisement According to the entity, the use of cameras will be on an experimental basis, after being approved last month by IFAB, the FIFA body that decides the laws of the sport. In addition to the cameras, FIFA confirmed that it will apply the new rule against the famous "time-wasting" of goalkeepers, awarding a corner kick to the opposing team if they keep the ball for more than eight seconds. There is already a punishment for this, a direct free kick, but referees rarely punish goalkeepers for "time-wasting". "We think it's a good chance to offer spectators a new experience, in terms of images taken from a perspective, from an angle of view that has never been offered before," said Pierluigi Collina, president of the FIFA Referees Committee. "It's a combination of new experiences for broadcasters and also for training purposes," he added. Advertisement According to Collina, who has refereed World Cup and Champions League finals, the novelty will be important for evaluating refereeing decisions. "Having the possibility to see what the referee sees is important for evaluating how the referee made the decision, what their vision was, and so on," he said. The use of cameras on referees has already been tested in Europe, with referee Michael Bacher, in a friendly match between Bayern and Grasshoppers last year. The German used a camera attached to his uniform, with the images from the "referee's camera" being released by the Bavarian club on their social media. The new FIFA competition will feature 32 teams, between June 14 and July 13, in the United States. Advertisement Flamengo, Palmeiras, Fluminense, and Botafogo will represent Brazil in this first edition of the tournament. 📸 Ronald Martinez - 2025 Getty Images
New York Times
08-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
FIFA confirms referees will wear body cameras for Club World Cup
FIFA has confirmed that referees at the 2025 Club World Cup will wear body cameras. The use of body cameras at the tournament will be on a trial basis, and Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA referees committee, said it would offer broadcast viewers a 'new experience'. In March, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the game's law makers, confirmed it approved of FIFA testing the technology in competitions to 'identify possible future use and develop quality and safety standards'. World football's governing body stated its intention to use body cameras at the Club World Cup as part of live match transmission. Advertisement 'We think that it is a good chance to offer the viewers a new experience, in terms of images taken from a perspective, from an angle of vision which was never offered before,' said Collina. 'It also has a purpose in terms of referee coaching. Because having the possibility to see what the referee sees is important in the debriefing, to evaluate how the call was made by the referee, which was his view, and so on. So it's a combination of new experience for broadcasters and also for coaching purposes.' Referee body cameras were first trialled in English grassroots football in 2023 with the aim of improving behaviour and respect from players and supporters towards match officials. FIFA described the grassroots testing as 'successful', adding the technology 'should be further tested and promoted given its positive impact on player behaviour'. Jarred Gillett became the first Premier League referee to wear a body camera during last season's fixture between Crystal Palace and Manchester United in May. The footage was not made available for immediate broadcast and was described as a 'one off' for a programme promoting match officials. The technology has also been trialled in the Bundesliga. FIFA also announced the new law change that aims to prevent goalkeepers from time-wasting will be introduced for the Club World Cup. Referees will award corners, not indirect free-kicks, if goalkeepers try to waste time by holding onto the ball for more than eight seconds. IFAB confirmed in March that the tweak to the law was set to be introduced from next season. It has already been trialled in youth leagues in England and Italy, and Malta's top flight this season, with referees using a visual five-second countdown to indicate to goalkeepers that they are on the clock. The Club World Cup takes place in the United States between June 14 and July 13. (for Reveal Media)
Sky News
02-03-2025
- Sport
- Sky News
Top FIFA official says it's harder than ever to be a football referee due to abuse
FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina has revealed it is more difficult than ever before to be a football match official due to abuse on the touchline and online - inflamed by conspiracy theories. With issues from the grassroots to the professional game, Mr Collina is concerned the hatred aimed at referees is the "cancer that could kill football". The Italian, who presided over the 2002 World Cup final, is regarded as one of the best referees of all time. "It was never easy," he told Sky News. "So I can say that it is worse now than before." Mr Collina is now chairman of the referees' committee at world football's governing body, helping to formulate changes to the laws of the game. "The responsibility of making a decision is something important," he said. "The interest is very big, particularly at the top level. So it's difficult." And what makes it more difficult are clubs and managers casting doubt over the integrity of referees - insinuating bias. Jose Mourinho, who is now managing at Fenerbahce, received a two-match ban in recent days after "derogatory and offensive statements" about refereeing in Turkey. Asked generally about those at the top of football setting a bad example, Mr Collina replied: "Unfortunately, this happens, always. There are people looking for conspiracies and finding something dirty even when there is not." Online campaigns that can be waged against referees by fans, even clubs at times, make the atmosphere even more volatile and potentially dangerous. "This probably becomes worse compared to my time when social networks were not existing," Mr Collina said. He added: "Different is the matter of the abuse towards referees, particularly in grassroots and youth football. This is something that we need to consider." Without referees committing time to youth football, there would be no matches that help to shape the next generation. But there is still abuse hurled at officials on touchlines. 1:31 "I spoke of a cancer that could kill football," Mr Collina said. "I'm still convinced that it's not understandable that in youth matches, parents of the boys and girls who are playing football are those who are abusing the referee who is helping. "They are making the experiences that could be important for the future. Not [only] as a footballer, because probably that 0.0001% will become a professional footballer, but they all become women and men. And that experience they learned as a young footballer may help them in their life." The English and Welsh FAs do report an increase in recruitment in referees - with retention now the challenge. FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said it is not such a "dark picture" for referees, pointing to improved behaviour in English grassroots games since officials were allowed to wear body cameras. Those trials were extended by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which also approved the global use by competitions of a rule only allowing captains to approach referees to discuss decisions after being implemented already in the Premier League. "We certainly have a responsibility towards the game to make sure that the referees are respected and safe," FIFA general secretary Mattias Grafstrom said after this weekend's meeting of football lawmakers IFAB near Belfast. He added: "So all the initiatives that we are currently looking at, we want to support them for the educational part as well. And it needs to trickle down from the professional game to the grassroots game." In the professional game, even the introduction of technology has at times inflamed disputes over decision-making as calls are forensically analysed. But Mr Collina is certain VAR is here to stay despite some grumbling among fans. "I'm fully convinced that bringing technology into football has been an improvement," he said. "I don't think that anyone likes to lose a game or not qualify for an important competition due to an honest mistake committed by the referee, vanishing all the efforts made during a season for a footballer or for the coach. "So I'm still 100% convinced that the implementation of the technology in football was something very, very positive. "Can it be improved? Yes. We are working on it. We know there is some room for improvement. And we are very keen to improve it. "We have already developed technologies that reduce the time needed to make a decision for an on field review as well as for an offside decision. "We are on this way and we think that we will get better and better in the future." But will the future see artificial intelligence eventually replace referees? "Technology is a great tool to help us to prepare and also to avoid mistakes being committed," Mr Collina said. "So we need to use technology but not only in football, in every activity in life. "I always say that I hope that it will be a human being able to make the final call."
