DFL To launch Referee Decision Announcement Pilot Project
A pilot project for announcing referee decisions in the stadium will be launched for both the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 this weekend (1st Feb).
As part of the project, a total of nine Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 stadiums will see referees announce their decisions relating to certain situations on the pitch via stadium loudspeakers.
The pilot project, which was initiated by the DFL Football Commission and driven forward in close coordination between the DFL and DFB Schiri GmbH, will be launched at five matches this coming weekend.
The referee will speak to the crowd when he has been in the review area pitchside to check a decision on the monitor – or when he changes a decision following an intervention of the video assistant.
The announcement will be made via the microphone of the referee’s headset and will be heard over the stadium loudspeakers. The referee will inform the spectators which phase of match action has been reviewed, the result of the review and the final decision. The announcement will also be integrated into the live broadcast of the media partners.
FC Bayern München, Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt, SC Freiburg, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, RB Leipzig, Fortuna Düsseldorf, SpVgg Greuther Fürth and FC St. Pauli have voluntarily agreed to take part in the test phase.
Ansgar Schwenken, DFL Director of Match Operations & Fans, siad: “With this test phase, we want to further increase the transparency of referee decisions and ensure greater understanding among the fans.
“Spectators in the stadium and in front of the screens will gain a deeper insight into the referee’s decision-making process following an intervention by the video assistant.
“The DFL Football Commission and DFB Schiri GmbH have jointly developed an important project here.”
Knut Kircher, Managing Director of DFB Schiri GmbH, added: “Despite all the controversial discussions surrounding the video assistant, we want to continue working with the DFL and its clubs to help make referees’ decisions in the stadium more transparent.
“We see the “Public Announcement” as a first clear step towards more clarification and have trained the procedures conscientiously with our referees. We are therefore confident that we can successfully support this new procedure, even if it will be unfamiliar at first.”
