The explanation of the decisions taken by the VAR and respective communications with the referee will be made public and made in real time, in the stadium and for those watching at home on TV, in an experimental phase and as a test, during the FIFA Club World Cup, which will take place from the 1st to the 11th of February this year, in Morocco, announced the International Board, which met this Wednesday in Wembley (London).
The IFAB (International Football Association Board, the entity that governs and regulates changes to bel-minho, admits that, if it takes the experience in Morocco, that the explanation of the decisions can, then, and after that, be extended to other competitions of the FIFA, reports the BBC this Wednesday.
One important detail is missing, to be worked on in second marriages: deciding on the language. Choose whether the communications will be in English, French or… in Arabic, for a broader understanding.
“A trial period of 12 months” in which “the referee’s communications with the VAR will be audible to everyone, in the stadium or at home” (or wherever they are watching the matches), will be a reality. And if the experience is successful, the FIFA U-20 World Cup, whose phase will be held in May in Indonesia, will be the second competition where it will also be put into practice.
The IFAB also admits, and also, a third test in major competitions (second selection event) at the 2023 Australia/New Zealand Women’s World Championship, which will take place from July 20 to August 20 of the current year for the two nations of the Oceania – with 32 teams, 29 of which have already qualified, and Portugal discussing in a single ‘play off’ game, on February 22, in Hamilton (New Zealand) with the winner of Cameroon-Thailand one of the three places still to be allocated – to be the first major competition in which this will happen.
«We agree that the fans are not being duly and sufficiently elucidated and informed», admitted the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the FA, the English federation (Football Association), Mark Bullingham, to journalists, at the end of the conclave, on this day.
At the same time, and as the second of three important decisions adopted that day in the organisation’s conclave, the IFAB ruled out the possibility of clubs being able to make an additional substitution – in addition to the five already authorized today – in case of players suffering brain concussions, and once you’ve exhausted the possible exchanges for your team before.
This possibility of an extra substitution which the International Board, on this day, looked at and declined, corresponded to express requests from FIFPRO – the international association of professional associations of footballers, of which the Union of Players forms part – and the Forum of World Leagues, who wanted the measure implemented in the Premier League, in Ligue 1 (France) and in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the USA.
Remember that on December 18, in Doha, in the final of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, between Argentina and France, the record for substitutions was broken: each team made the five possible player changes in the 90 minutes, then one more possible during extra time’… and France still operated the substitution of an injured player, in a total of 13 substitutions (six of the Argentines, seven of the French) that raised to… 35 the players that intervened in the pitch in the final, number never seen.
Mark Bullingham was in favor of supplementary replacement in cases of brain concussions, revealing that “no consensus has been reached” on this point.
“I voted in defeat, I fought myself, as well as others, so that this substitution more in cases of these serious injuries was, at least, put into practice for a test period”, Bullingham told journalists.
“If the five regulation substitutions were made with sense, it is the safest option, because if there is any suspicion of this injury, they must remove the player from the field immediately”, warned the person in charge.
The Director of Mental Health of the Professional Footballers’ Association’s (PFA) – an organization similar to the Union of Players in England -, Adam White, revealed himself to be «extremely disappointed» that this possibility of extra substitution was not enshrined, not even in a trial period .
“We should do our utmost for the protection and security of players, leagues and associations of armed players into law-makers is the other issue that arises here”, warned the doctor.
Third and last but not least, The International Board considered “a success”, in the words of the CEO of the FA, more injury time to make up for time lost to injuries and assisting players, put into practice at the World Cup Qatar-2022 by FIFA, with the 64 games, almost without exception, lasting over 100 minutes.
«When there is no incentive for players to ‘burn’ time, I predict that the number of them who are injured during games will decrease», was the irony with which Mark Bullingham referred to the fight against those who subtract useful game time at 90′ .
