The French Football Federation wants to move up a gear with regard to the sound system for referees. The president of the Federal Commission of Referees Eric Borghini indicated this Thursday that the FFF was going to write Ifab, the body which determines the rules of international football, to request authorization to wear microphones at Ligue 1 whistles ” from start to finish of the game.
In the event that the Ifab proves reluctant, the FFF also transmitted a subsidiary proposal: “that France can be an experimental federation to put the sound on when there are field viewings, for the VAR (video assistance)”, explained Eric Borghini. “That viewers can hear what the referees say would be great for the public,” assured the leader, also president of the Mediterranean League.
Soon referees at a press conference?
“During the last match I saw (Nice-Montpellier), I had the headset on and I heard the exchanges of the refereeing quartet, it was very rewarding, he added. The public would see that referees never speak badly to players, ever. “According to Eric Borghini, Ligue 1 referees are “completely in favor” of sound systems, “as are the DA (Direction de l’arbitrage) and the CFA. Stéphane Lannoy, new technical director delegated to professional refereeing, and Antony Gauthier, new director of refereeing, are perfectly aligned on this idea”.
The FFF is awaiting the response from Ifab, which has already met this Wednesday to discuss the subject. In addition to this request, The Team informed this Thursday morning that the Federation wished to authorize the referees to communicate after the meetings within the framework of a press conference. Before that, they would benefit from training in media training and crisis communication. “I told the referees that we had to stop with this opacity”, justified Eric Borghini.