Question Number: 30849

Law 5 - The Referee 10/2/2016

RE: Professional

Haji Hussain Jan of Muscat, Muscat Oman asks...

A referee is far from offence and a foul occured near penalty line, referee signaled for a DFK but attacking team not satisfied, ref asks AR and he says DFK. Someone calls ref outside and shows him the offense in slow motion in his tablet then referee points for a penalty kick and send off the defender, a ref id allow to do this?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Haji
Not allowed under the Laws. The referee may not use technology in this manner. FIFA is currently trialling what is called Video Assistant Referee or VAR
The trial details can be viewed here

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Haji,
This question is simple because the referee would never, ever allow himself to wander off the field to view a video that a spectator is showing him! No matter what the situation!
Even in a stadium, a referee cannot change his opinion upon viewing the incident on the big screen.
Now, FIFA are trialling Video Assistant Referee in a small number of leagues where the referee views the incident on a screen - usually it's a screen that a stadium staff member has carried to the nearest line. In these cases the referee can change his decision, but there are restrictions around use.
You wouldn't go over to the touch line to view somebody's recording of the match in your local league.

Answer provided by Referee MrRef

HI Haji,
currently under the LOTG a referee would not be permitted to do this in any recreational match. There is a test program under way where FIFA is considering using video tech to fix or assist a referee decision via the VAR (video assistant referee) concept. However, it could only apply to certain high level matches. It is just not practical at lower levels as even video footage is at times deceiving.
from our pitch to your pitch in the spirit of fair play