It starts on the next match day
Revolution in the Bundesliga: DFB starts pilot project in stadiums
Updated on January 26, 2025 – 4:24 p.mReading time: 1 min.
The video referee continues to divide football fans years after its introduction. Now comes an innovation that should help.
The pilot project with referee announcements in the stadium after the intervention of the video assistant is apparently to be started in German football next week. This is what the “Kicker” reports.
However, there are not yet the technical requirements in all stadiums for the referees’ announcements to be transmitted to the loudspeakers via their wireless headsets. On Monday, the German Football Association invited people to a press conference and would like to provide further information.
At the beginning of January, Kircher had already hinted at such a development in “Kicker”. “Concerning the stadium announcements, discussions are ongoing, there are intensive considerations. And we would be prepared for a possible pilot phase in the second half of the season,” said Kircher, who also added: “We also have to wait for FIFA’s findings: How will it be received , and does the technology work perfectly? Of course it shouldn’t let our referees down.”
It must be ensured that the decisive images are shown on the video boards directly and “not three minutes later,” said the former top referee.
A test phase is already underway in Portugal. At the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the game officials also made an announcement to the audience over the microphone after video evidence – as is common in ice hockey, for example. However, the decisions based on controversial situations are not justified. Those responsible hope that this will provide more transparency.