La Liga to make VAR conversations public

La Liga, the top professional division of the Spanish football league system, has announced a major change. It will publicise the communications between referees and VAR (Video Assistant Referee) at the end of every match beginning in January.

The official statement highlights that the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and La Liga have agreed to disclose the conversations between the referees and the VAR during game reviews. The scheme will be previewed on 10th January 2024, concentrating both on the Spanish Super Cup and La Liga broadcasts.

The statement from the RFEF and La Liga stated that, “the initiative marks a new phase of collaboration and joint work between the RFEF and CTA with La Liga, with the goal of providing greater transparency to refereeing in professional football and the competitions themselves.”

The project will kick-off on the 20th and 22nd respectively for matches associated with LALIGA EA SPORTS and LALIGA HYPERMOTION, taking place between 12th and 15th January. The initiative will have already made its debut in the Spanish Super Cup, organised by the RFEF, including both the semi-finals on the 10th and 11th January and the final on Sunday 14th.

Further, as per the official statement, the objective of releasing this footage and audio is to enrich fans’ experience and foster better understanding of referee decisions among viewers, ultimately enhancing the competitions as a whole.

In the coming days, both the RFEF and La Liga will release more information and educational material on their social media platforms to help fans and media better understand how this new dynamic will function.