Latest news with #VideoAssistant
New York Times
28-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Norwegian fans announce protests after professional clubs' vote to scrap VAR overruled
Norwegian football fans have announced a series of protests across the opening two matchdays of the top two divisions after its governing body voted to keep using Video Assistant Refereeing (VAR) despite its professional clubs voting to discontinue the system. The 2025 Eliteserien, Norway's top division, begins on Saturday March 28 and fans will stay out of stadiums for the first 15 minutes of each match before entering en masse as a protest against the recent decision to continue using VAR. Advertisement The Norwegian Supporter Alliance (NSA) drew up the initiative as a 'silent demonstration and walk-in', while a joint statement from supporters' groups at Oslo-based Valerenga say the action 'is intended to raise awareness that member democracy is under attack by anti-democratic forces who want to take control of Norwegian football'. In January, the 32 teams in Norsk Toppfotball (NTF), which represents clubs across Norway's top two divisions — the Eliteserien and First Division — passed a motion by 19 votes to 13 to request the Norway Football Federation (NFF) 'adopt the discontinuation of VAR as soon as possible'. However, the NFF responded by asking all 450 of its member clubs — the vast majority of whom are amateur and grassroots clubs who do not use the officiating technology — to vote on whether they wished to maintain VAR, with 321 voting in favour of keeping the system and 129 voting against. The Valerenga fan groups say the demonstration will 'symbolise what the abolition of member democracy can do to the supporter culture around Norwegian teams', with their view that the will of the NTF professional clubs has been ignored by the NFF. 'For this celebration to be successful, it will require everyone to make a sacrifice,' the joint statement added. 'We understand that everyone is looking forward to seeing our beloved Valerenga back in the league again, but we encourage everyone to find other solutions to watch the first 15 minutes. For example, venues will show the match on a big screen. 'As a last resort, there are still tickets available elsewhere in the stadium. We would like to emphasize that no attempts will be made to stop the matches. 'Defend member democracy!' VAR was introduced into Eliteserien in 2023 but has frequently been the subject of supporter protests. One incident in July 2024 saw the top-flight match between Rosenborg and Lillestrom abandoned after supporters threw tennis balls, fishcakes and smokebombs onto the pitch in protest against the technology. Advertisement A VAR report from the NFF in November stated the federation was being criticised for 'its communication style regarding VAR', adding: 'Players acknowledge that VAR has enhanced the fairness of refereeing decisions, but call for improvements in time management and more predictable procedures.' Elsewhere in Europe, Sweden became the first country to reject implementing VAR after fan backlash in May. In June Premier League clubs rejected proposals to scrap VAR following a motion from Wolverhampton Wanderers at the league's AGM. ()
New York Times
01-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Norwegian football to keep VAR despite professional clubs voting to scrap system
Norwegian football will keep using Video Assistant Refereeing (VAR) despite its professional clubs voting to discontinue the system earlier this year. In January, the 32 teams in Norsk Toppfotball (NTF), which represents clubs across Norway's top two divisions — the Eliteserien and First Division — passed a motion by 19 votes to 13 to request the Norway Football Federation (NFF) 'adopt the discontinuation of VAR as soon as possible'. Advertisement The NFF subsequently held an assembly on Saturday, March 1, in which all 450 of its member clubs — the vast majority of whom are amateur and grassroots clubs who do not use the officiating technology — were asked to vote on whether they wished to maintain VAR. 321 of the NFF's clubs voted to maintain using VAR, defeating the 129 who voted for the motion to start the process of its discontinuation. 'This is the biggest turnout since the vote on (the 2022 World Cup in) Qatar,' Anders Kjellevold, chair of the Norwegian Supporters Alliance (NSA) told The Athletic. 'It was always going to be difficult for those who want the remove VAR, as the smaller clubs, which constitute most of the participants, usually supports the FA board. They did so this time around too. The FA has put its weight behind keeping VAR. 'Still, 129 votes against the uanonynous position of the FA board is a strong indication of the opposition towards VAR in Norway.' VAR was introduced into Eliteserien in 2023 but has frequently been the subject of supporter protests. One incident in July 2024 saw the top-flight match between Rosenborg and Lillestrom abandoned after supporters threw tennis balls, fishcakes and smokebombs onto the pitch in protest against the technology. A VAR report from the NFF in November stated the federation was being criticised for 'its communication style regarding VAR', adding: 'players acknowledge that VAR has enhanced the fairness of refereeing decisions, but call for improvements in time management and more predictable procedures.' Elsewhere in Europe, Sweden became the first country to reject implementing VAR after fan backlash in May. The following month, Premier League clubs rejected proposals to scrap VAR following a motion from Wolverhampton Wanderers at the league's AGM. GO DEEPER Premier League clubs have fallen out of love with VAR - but will they vote to scrap it? (JILL DELSAUX/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Atletico Madrid chief reacts to Real Madrid referee complaints
Controversy is never too far away in Spanish football, and the latest big topic is surrounding referees. This has been brought about by Real Madrid, who sent a strong letter to the Spanish Football Federation earlier this week on the back of their controversial defeat to Espanyol last weekend. Real Madrid were furious at the decision not to send off Carlos Romero for a strong challenge on Kylian Mbappe, and their fury multiplied tenfold when the Espanyol defender scored the winning goal at the Stage Front Stadium. Ultimately, this prompted the latter and statement released by the club. Many people have had their say on the matter, and as per MD, Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo was also asked for his response when speaking to the media ahead of Tuesday's Copa del Rey quarter-final tie against Getafe. He insisted that the main problem is with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology, more so than the referees themselves. 'Everything is conditional. Referees always have controversies. Everything is conditioned in this life, but today we played a very important game and we are here to play with Getafe, not to talk about the referees. Besides, the problem is the VAR.' Cerezo has regularly been outspoken against VAR over the last 12-18 months, so it is no surprise that he has taken this stance. Real Madrid also do not like the technology at this stage given that they believe that it failed to correct the on-field decision of yellow card for Romero. It will be very interesting to see how this matter progresses in the coming weeks. There has been significant response from all quarters of Spanish football to this recent matter, and there is no doubt that referees will continue to remain a hot topic of conversation for many years to come.
Associated Press
27-01-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Referees in Germany's Bundesliga to start in-stadium announcements for VAR calls
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — German soccer referees will start making NFL-style announcements to the crowd to explain video review rulings starting this week. Bayern Munich and German champion Bayer Leverkusen are among nine clubs taking part in a trial program at their home games from Saturday onward, the German league said Monday. Following on from a trial in the English League Cup earlier this month, five games this week have been selected for the first wave of Germany's program, including Bayern's game against Holstein Kiel on Saturday. It will only affect a minority of games in the top two men's leagues for now. Referees will use a headset microphone linked to the public address system to communicate directly with fans after incidents that required review by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system. Only the final decision will be broadcast in the stadium, not discussions between the on-field referee and colleagues. In Germany, many fans still resent VAR for interrupting the flow of the game and, as some see it, penalizing defenders too harshly. The chief executive of the refereeing body for the leagues, Knut Kircher, argued Monday that making the VAR process clearer to fans was the logical next step. 'Despite all the controversial discussions about the video assistants, we want to keep working together with the (German Football League) and its clubs to make the referees' decisions in the stadium more transparent,' Kircher said in a statement. 'In the 'public announcement' we see a clear first step toward greater clarity and we have taken care to train our referees on the procedures. Therefore we are confident that we can successfully support this new approach even if it will seem unusual to begin with.' Soccer is a relative latecomer to announcements which are widely used in other team sports. NFL referees were given wireless microphones in 1975 to explain penalty decisions. Major League Baseball began in-park announcements during replay reviews in 2022 and microphones have long-been used by rugby referees. In soccer, in-stadium announcements were in place at the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 and other FIFA events. ___
