Plans to introduce video refereeing into the A-League next season "look certain to be delayed, after the FIFA officials overseeing the global experiment ordered its first stage to be kept under wraps," according to Tom Smithies of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH.
Football Federation Australia "is one of 15 bodies around the world that has volunteered to trial the video referral system that FIFA will examine, and it had been expected to go live in time for October when the new season starts."
But at a workshop this week in Europe, the various competitions involved -- including the English Premier League, and the Dutch and Italian leagues -- "were told that its initial implementation will be in a so-called 'offline' format from August, and that it’s roll out for use in competitions will take more than a year." From October “live” trials will be allowed but only in friendly games, "ruling out its introduction in the next A-League season." In those live trials, the video referee "will alert the main referee to any decision that might appear wrong" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 5/19).
