FRANKFURT, Germany — Starting this week, German soccer referees will introduce NFL-style announcements to audiences to clarify video review decisions. This new initiative will be implemented by nine clubs, including Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, during their home matches beginning Saturday, according to the German league’s announcement made on Monday.
This program follows a recent trial implemented in the English League Cup earlier this month. In the first phase of this initiative, five games are slated for this week, which includes Bayern’s match against Holstein Kiel on Saturday. However, it will only be adopted in a select few games within the top two men’s leagues, at least for the present.
Referees will utilize a headset microphone connected to the venue’s public address system to relay information directly to fans after incidents that have prompted a review by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system. The announcements will only convey the final decision made, omitting discussions between the on-field referee and their VAR counterparts.
Many supporters in Germany have expressed dissatisfaction with VAR, criticizing it for disrupting the natural flow of the game and, in some views, unfairly penalizing defenders. The head of the refereeing body for the leagues, Knut Kircher, stated on Monday that enhancing the visibility of the VAR process for fans is a logical advancement.
“Amid ongoing debates surrounding the video assistants, our goal remains to collaborate closely with the German Football League and its clubs to ensure that the referees’ decisions become clearer during matches,” Kircher remarked in his statement.
He emphasized, “This public announcement method represents a significant first stride toward improving transparency, and we have prepared our referees thoroughly for these new protocols. We believe our efforts will successfully support this initiative, despite it being a new experience initially.”
Soccer has been slower to adopt these types of announcements, which are commonplace in various other team sports. For instance, NFL referees began using wireless microphones in 1975 to articulate penalty calls, while Major League Baseball introduced in-park announcements during replay reviews in 2022. Rugby referees have long utilized microphones for this purpose.
In soccer, similar in-stadium announcements were utilized during the Women’s World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand in 2023, as well as other FIFA events.
