REF-CAM could be introduced in the Premier League next season after Fifa hailed its Club World Cup success.
Officials at the US tournament have worn eye-level cameras attached to their ear-pieces during the tournament.
A ref-cam could be introduced in the Premier League next season
That is after Fifa hailed the ref-cam’s Club World Cup success
TV viewers have been wowed by the close-range shots, including footage of Pedro Neto’s stunning goal for Chelsea against LAFC.
And that has paved the way for an early roll-out of the technology – with Prem chiefs keen on taking advantage.
Fifa refs’ chief Pierluigi Collina said: “The outcome of using the ref cam here at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 went beyond our expectations.
“We thought it would have been an interesting experience for TV viewers and we’ve received great comments.
“We were asked: ‘Why not in all the matches?’ and even more: ‘Why not in all sports?’”
Law makers on the International FA Board had hoped the use of ref cams would help improve player behaviour when they approved the trial at the Annual General Meeting in Belfast in February.
But Collina also feels that the technology has proven important for showing fans why officials make the decisions they do.
He added: “We had the possibility to see what the referee sees on the field of play.
“This was not only for entertainment purposes, but also for coaching the referees and to explain why something was not seen on the field of play.
“If you go back to the game between Atletico Madrid and PSG [Paris Saint-Germain], there was a handball incident that was not spotted.
“From this ref cam, it was absolutely clear that the referee could not have seen that incident live on the pitch and the VAR alerted the referee who awarded a penalty to PSG.”
Ifab had been awaiting feedback from Fifa before deciding whether to approve wider use of the technology but Collina’s endorsement suggests world chiefs found no unforeseen issues that would prevent an expansion.
And that opens the way to the Prem applying to conduct a League-wide test next term after two previous trials.
Referee Rob Jones was the first to be wired for pictures, when he took charge of the July 2023 game between Chelsea and Brighton in Philadelphia, which was part of the Prem’s Summer Series pre-season tournament.
In May 2024, Jarred Gillett also donned the special eye-level camera as Crystal Palace slammed Manchester United 4-0 at Selhurst Park.
Unlike during the Club World Cup, none of the images from Gillett’s camera were broadcast at the time although Prem bosses released some footage just four days later before a 25-minute show was produced in December.
Prem bosses keen
Prem bosses are keen on any developments that enhance the match-day experience for fans, both at home and inside stadiums.
That could also see clubs agree to follow Fifa’s lead and play out the images from pitchside VAR reviews in real time from the stadiums’ giant screens.
If Ifab gives the green light next week, as expected, it could see the cameras used in this year’s Summer Series involving Man Utd, Bournemouth, Everton and West Ham, with games in New Jersey, Chicago and Atlanta.
That would then allow club bosses to have a final look at the system before a vote to bring the ref cams in for the new campaign starting next month.
Meanwhile, Collina added that the new “eight second” law to prevent goalkeepers wasting time had been a positive, as had the latest updated version of semi-automated offsides.
The new AI technology gave assistant refs a signal if an attacking player was just 10cm offside and touched the ball.
New keeper law
It followed the horror injury sustained by Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi when the flag stayed down in his side’s draw with Leicester, which saw the Nigerian placed in an induced coma in hospital.
Collina said: “The alert went to the assistant referees well before, when there was a clear offside position.
“So, it worked very well, we have the goals disallowed, correctly disallowed; we also had correct decisions supported by the semi-automatic offside technology. We are very happy, very pleased.”
Prem chiefs had not planned to use this version of SAOT when they unveiled their own version of the technology in the final quarter of last term but this may now change.
Regarding the new keeper law, Collina said: “It was very successful. The tempo of the match was improved and we had no time lost.
“The fact that only two goalkeepers were punished means that they really respected the rule.
“By doing that, we achieved the purpose that we wanted, which was not to give corner kicks, but prevent the eight seconds rule from being not respected. The purpose was 100 per cent achieved.”
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