Video referee to be used in England friendly against Germany today
Friday, 10 November 2017
LONDON, Nov 9 (AFP): A video referee will be used in England's friendly against Germany at Wembley on Friday, half a century after one of the most controversial decisions in the history of the game at the 1966 World Cup final.
Last year the International Football Association Board approved a two-year trialling of the video refereeing (VAR) system.
It is being used in Italy and Germany this season but Friday's match will see it used for the first time in an official game in Britain -- during a fixture that has been seen its fair share of controversial goalline incidents.
The debate over whether Geoff Hurst's goal in the 1966 World Cup final crossed the line during England's 4-2 win at Wembley has never gone away while Frank Lampard's disallowed strike during England's 4-1 defeat at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was shown to have crossed the line by technology.
Video assistant referees, watching the game on TV screens, are available to review four types of situation -- goals, penalty/no penalty decisions, straight red cards, and cases of mistaken identity.
It is only to be used "to correct clear errors and for missed serious incidents" in those "match-changing" situations, the IFAB has said.