VAR Women’s World Cup: Fans have mixed views over new way of announcing decision to crowds

The Women’s World Cup is well underway, with England getting their campaign under way against Haiti. Despite only being two days since the tournament opener, history has already been made.

History was made during the opening match between New Zealand and Norway, when  referee Yoshimi Yamashita announced a VAR decision to spectators in attendance - a method used only three times in the history of the game.

The incident came towards the end of the game, when in the 86th minute of the contest, Tuva Hansen appeared to handle the ball inside the Norway area. The penalty was awarded via VAR with the Japanese official then announcing it to the crowd.

The subsequent penalty was actually missed but the occasion is still a momentous one, as it’s only the third time a referee has announced a VAR decision like this to spectators in the ground.

The method has been trialled in other tournaments too. It has been trialled in the Club World Cup and in a youth tournament. It comes after fans have long called for better communication in regards to VAR decisions.

Currently, in stadiums across the Premier League a sign may come up on the big board, notifying fans of a decision being made and a stadium announcer may tell fans a VAR check is in progress.

But, that’s about as far as it goes. The referee usually stands with his finger in his ear and may jog over to the VAR screen but fans are mostly kept in the dark, with no idea what is going or being said.

Still very much in an experimental phase, the method has received mixed responses. One viewer said: “I love it, gives the crowd more clarity on why the decision was given. All pro soccer leagues need to adopt this.”

Some were more critical than others, with one fan saying: “Completely pointless if no explanation is given.” Another shared the same opinion, saying: “Insignificant if the reasons are not explained.”