VAR chief Howard Webb turns to British Airways to improve Premier League refereeing
Premier League referees have held sessions with British Airways pilots in a bid to improve the VAR process which has come under increased scrutiny this season.
Not a headline you expected to see on Friday morning we suspect, but it’s true. Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), has called on the expertise of BA pilots to help referees ‘hone the art of communicating under pressure’.
The VAR process came under particular pressure after the audio was released in the wake of Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal in Liverpool’s defeat to Tottenham in September.
VAR’s attempt to overrule a wrong on-field offside decision against Díaz was ruined by a failure to express the decision properly.
The Times report that Chris Heaven and Pete Nataraj, the two pilots, gave a presentation to Premier League officials as part of a drive to ‘improve precision of language’.
They said dialogue should be ‘brief and direct’, and highlighted ‘the need for clarity and accuracy, minimal syllables, no padding and none of the “well done, boys, good process . . . cheers, mate” informality’.
The report continued:
‘Similarities between the two roles, pilot and referee, were discussed. A number of people talk to a pilot before take-off, whether fueller, ground staff, co-pilot and cabin crew, so they learn to filter out the white noise and deal with what’s important. There has to be absolute clarity, particularly when communicating with air traffic control (its staff have also presented to England’s elite referees).
‘It was also highlighted that when a pilot is landing abroad, a simple, standardised vocabulary is even more important to overcome any language barriers. When a referee is communicating with assistants and VAR in a heated, noisy atmosphere, often with players disputing a decision, simplicity of language is similarly key. In the Díaz decision, Hooper’s assistant Simon Long said “give it”, when it was unclear whether he was referring to the goal or the offside. The pilots emphasised the need for more clarity.
‘It was also noted that communication can be further complicated by similarity in names of those involved. At Spurs, the fourth official was Michael Oliver, while “Oli” was the VAR Hub operations executive Oli Kohout back at Stockley Park.’
It’s reported that the 45-minute presentation was ‘well received by the officials’, who were also told of the importance of staying calm when dealing with incidents.
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