Fans will get the chance to hear VAR discussions in the Premier League for the first time as part of a TV pilot led by Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer.
Webb was appointed to the role in December, promising to bring greater transparency and openness to Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body that controls refereeing in English football.
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The first stage was to acknowledge major errors when they occur, such as the missed offside on Brentford‘s equaliser at Arsenal, and the failure to award a penalty for Brighton at Tottenham Hotspur.
Webb has been working towards releasing the VAR audio — permitted by FIFA in the days after a game but not live during a match — believing it will bring greater clarity for fans, coaches and players. In his previous role with MLS, Webb introduced Inside Video Review, which ran through all contentious incidents in a gameweek in a short video format.
The pilot show from Premier League Productions will air on Monday, May 15, and audio of key decisions from this season will also be shown by Sky Sports in the UK the same day.
Webb plans to release the officials audio on a more regular basis next season to further help with transparency.
