Before the start of the season of the Bundesliga (August 22) and the 2nd league (August 1), the German Football League (DFL) announced several changes. The season 2025/26 is all about improved communication channels and technological development.
Stadium announcements
Referee decisions by stadium announcement are introduced in all stages of the 36 clubs of the Bundesliga and the 2nd league. As in the successful test phase, which the DFL had carried out at nine locations of the two highest leagues in the pre-season from the 20th matchday, the referee is in two cases speaking via loudspeakers: If he was on the monitor or a decision after VAR intervention changes. In the Bundesliga there will be the stadium announcements from the start of the season, in which the 2nd league is shifting to the ninth matchday (17th to 19th October).
“After the positive results of a pilot project in nine stadiums last season, which had also met with clearly positive feedback from fans and media partners, the technical requirements at all 36 venues are currently being created”it says from the DFL. With the announcements in the stadium, the video evidence system should become more transparent.
Referee
The so -called Refcam, a small special camera worn by the impartial, will also be used more often in the future. However, the recording of the perspective from a referee perspective will only be available as part of the reporting in selected games.
Schiri meeting
The referee team as well as the coaches and captains of both teams will come together 70 minutes before the start of the game for a short meeting in the impartial cabin. The meeting is intended to ensure a better mutual exchange and respectful dealings with each other.
Semi -automatic Offside recognition
The semi -automated offside technology is also introduced at the beginning of the new season and is intended to provide a faster and transparent solution to determine possible offside positions. Compared to the pre-season, special cameras and a new tracking technology, movements of players and balls allow three-dimensional movement data of 21 body points per athlete to be recorded in real time.
Thanks to the exact position determination, the play moment of the ball and the potential offside position itself can be recorded automatically and forwarded to the VAR for checking. The results of the offside recognition can also be shown graphically on television.
Sprint
In addition to the offside analyzes, the new tracking system also provides data at speed, change of direction and concrete movements of individual players. The data is evaluated via AI. The changes should increase the comparability between different leagues, but at the same time also meet the always developing athletics of the game.