CARDIFF, Wales – Soccer’s rule-makers on Saturday approved in-game trials with video assistance for referees as Gianni Infantino used the start of his FIFA presidency to push innovation in the sport.
Initially tests will be in private before moving to a live pilot phase with replay-assistance by the 2017-18 season at the latest, the International Football Association Board’s annual meeting decided.
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IFAB will have to approve all trials, with 13 leagues or associations already expressing an interest in hosting trials.
Infantino is keen to show that FIFA has embraced a “new era” with the reign of his predecessor Sepp Blatter now over.
“We have taken really a historic decision for football,” Infantino said in the Welsh capital Cardiff. “FIFA and IFAB are now leading the debate and not stopping the debate. We have shown we are listening to the fans, the players.”
IFAB rejected allowing coaches to have appeals where videos of incidents could be examined.
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The use of video would be restricted to referees ruling on whether a goal has been scored, a penalty should be awarded, a player should be sent off or in cases of mistaken identity.
It is four years since IFAB approved the introduction of technology to determine whether the ball crossed the line.
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