FA To Back Video Replays In Bid to Assist Referees

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Greg Dyke is in favour of using video replays to help referees.

FA Chairman Greg Dyke will throw his support behind video replays being used to help out referees, reports the Mail.

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The scheme – which involves an assistant referee watching the game on television, and reporting back to a referee who will be wearing a headset,  similar to those currently worn in the Super League – will potentially be trialed in the domestic cup competition in the Netherlands, provided that it gets the approval from the International FA Board.

The IFAB, which consists of FIFA and representatives from all the home nations, will meet this weekend in Belfast to discuss possible changes to the laws of the game, and Dyke has already given the proposal his support.

“I believe we will look back in 20 years’ time and say, ‘Wasn’t it quaint that we didn’t use the available technology to help referees’,” Dyke said.

The FA Chairman has overseen the advent of goalline technology in the Premier League, and feels the game needs to keep evolving, a viewpoint supported by the referees. But Dyke has warned that change can’t be instantaneous, and must happen over time.

“I think the referees themselves are now up for trying it out somewhere. Slowly and gradually it needs to be done, as you could disrupt the game completely if you are not careful,” he added.

The move comes less than a week after it was announced that Burnley striker Ashley Barnes will face no action for his part in an incident that led to Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic getting sent off. Despite making a nasty-looking challenge, no retrospective action will be taken against Barnes as the match officials saw the tackle on the Serbian midfielder.

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