For the first time in the history of English football, a referee has utilized an NFL-inspired announcement system to convey the result of a video review directly to the audience in the stadium.
During the English League Cup match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, referee Stuart Attwell took to the public address system to inform fans that Tottenham’s Dominic Solanke’s goal at the 76-minute mark was disallowed due to an offside position.
Attwell shared this crucial decision using a wireless microphone, ensuring that both the fans in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and viewers on television were informed. Following a video assistant referee (VAR) review that took roughly two minutes, he announced that Solanke had indeed been offside when the goal, which would have given Spurs a 1-0 lead, was scored.
Shortly after the disallowed goal, Solanke assisted teammate Lucas Bergvall, leading to another goal that secured Spurs’ 1-0 victory in the first leg of the semifinals.
However, Tottenham’s manager Ange Postecoglou was not impressed by this groundbreaking announcement. In his opinion, it added little value to the match. “If people think that announcement tonight added anything to the game, I’m sorry,” he remarked, expressing his preference for the traditional method where a flag is raised, and the game continues.
The League Cup semifinals have been selected as the testing ground for this new communication method, which has seen wider adoption in various sports.
In 1975, NFL referees began using wireless microphones to clarify their penalty calls, and after a brief discontinuation, they reinstated their replay system in the 1999 season. The NHL introduced a replay system in 1991, followed by the NBA in 2002.
Major League Baseball also implemented in-stadium announcements during replay reviews in 2022, and rugby referees have been employing similar systems for a long time.
Soccer fans experienced in-stadium announcements during the 2023 Women’s World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand, as well as at other FIFA events, highlighting the growing trend of enhancing spectator communication in sports.
