Fans watching the 2023 Women’s World Cup in the crowd and at home will get treated to an aspect of refereeing that should remind them of the sort of football played in the NFL, rather than what will take place on the pitch in Australia and New Zealand this summer.
According to ESPN’s Tom Hamilton, referees at the international event will explain VAR decisions to both in-person crowds and those watching on television aloud over each stadium’s loudspeaker. The process will be reminiscent of the way replay reviews function in the NFL, with officials expanding on certain calls for the benefit of audiences.
Among the decisions that referees may be tasked with explaining at this summer’s World Cup are reviews regarding overturned goals, possible red cards and penalties.
The NFL-style reviews had already spread to soccer after the International Football Association Board announced a year-long trial at international tournaments back in January. The system had already been implemented at the FIFA Club World Cup and men’s Under-20 World Cup earlier this year and was met with widespread approval.
“We decided to have this trial because we received some requests to make the decision taken by the referee after a VAR intervention more understandable for all the football stakeholders, namely the spectators at the stadium, or in front of the television,” Pierluigi Collina, chairman of FIFA's referee committee, said in February. “I have to say that there are other experiences in other sports, namely the NFL in American football, who have been doing this for quite a long time. It seems that the referees are pretty comfortable with this."
The Women’s World Cup will begin on July 20th in Australia and New Zealand and run until the final on August 20th.
