Ref uses mic to explain decisions to crowd

After the Club World Cup in February, it's now the U20 World Cup's turn to be the guinea pig for new refereeing technology. The referee is able to, thanks to a microphone, explain his decisions to the crowd, just like is already the case in other sports such as the NFL.

For the Argentina-Uzbekistan game on Saturday, French referee Francois Letexier was equipped with the microphone, which came in handy for a key moment.

When the score was poised at 1-1, he chose to award a penalty in the 31st minute to Uzbekistan. But after the VAR review, he saw the images and decided to overturn his decision. After that, he was able to explain why he had done what he had to all the fans in the stadium, which left a perculiar and unfamiliar scene.

 

May 21, 2023