It was on February 4, at the Vélodrome stadium, during the Olympique de Marseille-Angers match, at the start of the 23rd day of Ligue 1. It went unnoticed and yet the referee of the match Jérémy Stinat was equipped , by broadcaster Amazon, a microphone. The exchanges were not broadcast during the meeting, but were the subject of a post-match summary where we distinctly hear the man in black distilling his explanations to the players, on a goal or a fault. .
Hearing the referees explain their decision is unprecedented in football but it is already a habit in another sport, with a more oval ball, rugby. For nearly twenty years, under the impetus of another broadcaster, Canal +, the men in black have been equipped with a microphone. “The microphone is an asset, it allows you to verbalize and give accessibility to the decision to spectators and viewers alike”explains for franceinfo Romain Poite, international referee who will bow out at the end of the season. “It is also a duty for the person who wears it to have the necessary respect and the right words when meetinghe adds. It is something that inevitably advances refereeing in general and we can put it in superposition with other disciplines.
To add sound to all Ligue 1 referees and broadcast these conversations live, the device must be validated by the International Football Association Board (Ifab), which is the guardian of the rules of the game. For several months, Ifab has been working on this question of the sound system of the referees. France is closely monitoring developments in the case. “We have always had an open heart for this technologyrecalls Eric Borghini, president of the Federal Commission of Referees at the FFF. As soon as Ifab launches the experiments, France will raise its hand to be a pilot candidate for the sound system for referees. It’s in tune with the times, in the continuity of video assistance.”
Joël Quiniou, former international referee, match record holder in the final stages of the World Cup with 9 games on the whistle, is in favor of the arrival of the sound system. “It would change the relationship between the referees and the players in the game. We could no longer question the version of the referee and the players, knowing the exchanges made public, they would not want to add more”believes the former international referee.
“Sometimes, we can see that things are going downhill. With the microphones, it would necessarily change the behavior of each other, and that would be a good thing.”
Joël Quiniou, former international refereeat franceinfo
The desire to sound the referees is not philanthropic, it is also a way for the Professional Football League to promote the Ligue 1 product. Broadcasters would like, we explained to franceinfo, to also film before the match in the referees’ locker room, during discussions with the captains of the two teams. No date has yet been set for possible tests, we should know more on March 3, during the annual general meeting of Ifab.