Bundesliga to test in-stadium refereeing announcements

The German football league (DFL) said on Monday it had launched a pilot project for referees to explain decisions to fans via loudspeakers in the stadium and on television during games.

Nine clubs from the top two tiers of German football have agreed to take part in the trial, with the first tests to take place during this weekend's fixtures.

The aim of the announcements was to "increase the transparency of referee decisions and ensure greater understanding among the fans", DFL head of match operations Ansgar Schwenken said in a statement.

The referee on the pitch will speak to the fans when they have reviewed a decision on the pitch-side monitor.

The official will also explain decisions which are changed directly following the intervention of VAR.

The referee will speak to fans via a microphone, with the announcement carried on loudspeakers in the stadium – similar to the procedure in American football.

The referee's statement will likewise be integrated into media broadcasts of the game, the DFL said.

In the announcement, the referee will identify which action has been reviewed, state the outcome of the review and give the final decision before restarting play.

The first tests of the new procedure will take place this weekend at five games across the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2.

They include the match between Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich and Holstein Kiel at the Allianz Arena on Saturday and reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen's fixture against Hoffenheim on Sunday.

Knut Kircher, the managing director of the German refereeing body DFB Schiri, said there had been "controversial discussions surrounding the video assistant" since its introduction.

The new pilot was the "first clear step towards more clarification", Kircher said, adding that referees had practised making announcements to fans.

Top-level match officials were committed to making decisions "more transparent" even if the in-game procedure would be "unfamiliar at first", Kircher said.