Ex-Premier League referee: Liverpool fans to profit from drastic rule change amid development this week
Keith Hackett has claimed fans of Liverpool and other Premier League clubs will benefit if a trial of referees communicating their VAR decisions to stadiums is expanded.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee insisted he is “very positive” about the new change.
As per Sky Sports (18 January), the IFAB (International Football Association Board) have approved a trial of referees communicating decisions taken after VAR review at this month’s Club World Cup in Morocco.
If the trial proves to be a success, the new rules could be rolled out to other FIFA competitions later in the year – such as the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The IFAB and FIFA have faced calls to make communication between the VAR system and referees available to fans in real-time – but have so far resisted the clamour for change.
The Club World Cup kicks off on Wednesday (1 February) when Al Ahly face Auckland City.
Hackett told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “Anything that can communicate to the fans what is happening with these processes can only be a positive.
“I’m going to be very intrigued to see how they use it. Is it just going to be the referee saying that he’s given offside, or are they going to explain the process a bit further?
“But it’s a real improvement, momentous, and I’m very positive about it.
“Anthony Taylor will be out refereeing in Morocco, so hopefully he can learn from that experience and we can see some changes in the Premier League.
“It should be a really good change.”
In other news, pundit claims Liverpool have “huge” Mohamed Salah “problem” as Jurgen Klopp fumes.