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The A-League has been handed the opportunity by FIFA to be one of six competitions around the world to trial the ground-breaking use of video replays on contentious calls.
Football Federation Australian will initially run offline experiments with the eventual plan for fully-fledged live tests of video assistant referees (VARs).
Replays will be used to check game-changing incidents such as penalty-kick decisions, red cards and goals scored from line-ball offside calls.
In the initial experiments, VARs will assess video replays and make calls on match-changing incidents, but without any communication with the on-field referee.
Joining Australia in participating in the trial is Germany’s Bundesliga, the league and cups in Portugal, Major League Soccer in the United States as well as unspecified competitions in Brazil and the Netherlands.
Chief executive David Gallop said FFA had embraced the idea that would form part of the A-League’s rejuvenation.
“We have been at the forefront of pushing for more broadcast innovations in the Hyundai A-League and we embraced the VARs idea from the start,” said Gallop.
“The eventual introduction of VARs will be a breakthrough for referees in game-changing moments and will greatly enhance the experience for fans and viewers.
“In tandem with our brand refresh for the A-League, the introduction of a centralised Marquee Player Fund and the changes happening in the digital landscape, we can see a new era taking shape for the A-League.”
FFA will now embark on the next phase of working with referees, clubs, coaches, players, broadcasters and stadium managers on the offline trials.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he hoped VARs will be used to support referees at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
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