Get ready to see football through the eyes of the referee — literally.
FIFA has announced that referees at this summer’s Club World Cup in the U.S. will be strapping on body cameras in a bold new trial aimed at enhancing the game for fans and officials alike.
The move, approved recently by football’s rule-making body IFAB, is part of a wider push to modernize the sport and increase transparency on the pitch.
“It’s a chance to offer fans a brand-new perspective — a view of the game that’s never been seen before,” said Pierluigi Collina, legendary referee and current chairman of FIFA’s Referees Committee.
But it’s not just about the visuals. The footage from these ref cams could become a powerful tool for training and match analysis.
“Seeing what the referee sees helps in evaluating calls, debriefing after matches, and better understanding decisions in real time,” Collina added.
In addition to the body cam experiment, FIFA is rolling out a new, stricter rule to crack down on time-wasting by goalkeepers — a long-standing issue that often frustrates fans.
Under the new rule, if a goalkeeper holds the ball for more than eight seconds, the opposing team will be awarded a corner kick — a more punishing consequence than the rarely-enforced indirect free-kick that exists under current rules.
The new rule aims to keep the tempo high and discourage stalling tactics.
The 32-team Club World Cup kicks off June 14 and runs through July 13, marking a summer of fresh experiments, fierce competition — and maybe a few viral referee POV clips.
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