During the Carabao Cup semi-finals, for the first time in England stadiums, video assistant referees will announce any decision by the video assistant referee to football fans inside the stadium.
As part of the trial, referees will announce the final decision after inspecting the VAR pitchside monitor or when ruling on factual matters such as an offside offense when an accidental handball or attacking ball is touched by a goalscorer.
Such announcements are common in other sports such as rugby union and American football and the system was trialled 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Arsenal v Newcastle and Tottenham v Liverpool – both legs of each semi-final will be included in the trial.
Referencing authority PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) said the move was part of its “commitment to transparency” and hoped it would provide more clarity and understanding around key decisions.
The referees are preparing for the stadium announcement in the training camp and have already practiced at the stadium. Officials for the matches will be announced on Tuesday.
Premier League Match Center has posted “near-live” interpretations of VAR decisions this season on XPost, but this is the first time a spoken announcement will be made to viewers.
first leg The cup semi-finals will be played on 7 and 8 January 2025, with the return fixtures on 5 and 6 February.
