‘We’re going to do everything we can to pull back the curtain’: Howard Webb reveals PGMOL’s plans for umpires to explain decisions to fans during and after games in revolutionary plans that will develop ‘in the coming weeks’
- Howard Webb has unveiled new plans for referees to explain decisions to fans
- It is because the ex-referee hopes to offer more ‘transparency’ to supporters
- Webb suggested that umpires could explain decisions during and after games
Howard Webb has reportedly unveiled new plans for referees to explain their decisions to fans during and after matches, in an effort to “draw the curtains” on supporters at the stadium and at home.
According to TalkSportPGMOL’s chief referee claimed the organization hoped to implement the new plans “in the coming weeks” in an effort to improve transparency around some of the decisions made by the teams on duty.
It’s because VAR has become a huge talking point this season, with Webb, who took over as head referee at PGMOL in August 2022, dealing with many issues in his first year with the organisation.
One point that has been discussed at length this season is the use of VAR, which sometimes leaves fans in the dark about the decisions officials make or why they check certain things during a match.
But changes seem to be coming quite quickly, according to the 51-year-old, who admitted the PGMOL was doing everything they could to make things clearer to supporters.
Howard Webb has unveiled new plans for umpires to explain their decisions to supporters
It’s because the VAR has become a huge talking point this season, with fans sometimes left in the dark as to why a decision was made.
The PGMOL has had a lot of controversy this season, apologizing to several clubs for bad decisions
“We’re doing everything we can to be as transparent as possible,” he told TalkSport at the EFL Awards on Sunday. “But there are some parameters that we need to work on within that FIFA set, but we’re going to push those.
“We’re going to do everything we can to pull back the curtain, we’re going to do some things after the game that haven’t been done before, and if we can do things in the game, we’ll do it.”
“We’ll see what we can do after the game, even in the game with the stadium crowd, that’s definitely my intention and hopefully you’ll see some developments in the coming weeks.”
Rugby and cricket currently have systems that allow fans to listen in on umpires making their decisions, and Webb suggested that the PGMOLs could take a similar approach to those used in those sports.
“Since I’ve been here I’ve been really impressed with the quality of communication with officials,” he said.
“We’ve started to show broadcasters how good the communication is and that’s been very well received, we want to give that to the public and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you see it.”
“It’s quite difficult in the stadium to get that story out in the more complex situations, but we have to do everything we can to get the stadium audience on board, because if you show the rationale for a decision, you can make it there.” still disagree. but if you understand it, you are much more likely to accept it.
More to follow…