FIFA may contemplate broadcasting conversations between referees and VAR officials to the crowd and to TV audiences at future tournaments. The controversial VAR system has been declared a success by officials at this World Cup with chairman of the FIFA referees committee Pierluigi Collina saying it has been ‘almost perfect’ during the 48 group stage matches in Russia.
At a press conference in Moscow on Friday, Collina was asked whether it would be beneficial to spectators if they could hear the conversations taking place between officials as decisions were being reviewed on the monitors.
He said: ‘Before running you have to walk. It may be possible but I don’t know the future. Maybe we could think of it. It’s something we will look at it in the future. I don’t think you should ever say no to something. You should look at pros and cons and experiment and see how things are.’
Ahead of the knock out stages that start on Saturday FIFA revealed on Friday that 335 incidents have been checked by VAR so far and that this has led to an overall success rate of 99.3 per cent in terms of correct decisions. Fourteen decisions have been overturned by VAR so far with three being upheld. Collina said: ‘VAR does not stand for perfection. There will still be mistakes. But 99 per cent is very close to perfection’.