The Director of the Referees Department talks to the Saff.com about the performance of the Referees and the technical details of the VAR

2020-12-25
22:16:13

The Director of the Referees Department of the Saudi Football Association, the Swiss, Manuel Navarro, confirmed his confidence in the performance of the Saudi referee, praising what the referees presented during the past rounds, pointing out that the mistakes that occurred during these rounds did not affect the outcome of any match, but stressed at the time Itself on the need to work to reduce these errors.

In his interview with the Saudi Football Association website, he talked about all the details related to VAR technology to clarify many things for the Saudi fans, and here is the text of the dialogue

* Since the absence of local rulers in the Saudi Professional League for nearly two seasons, how did you manage to bring them back?

We were keen to prepare many online courses and talked repeatedly about all issues related to arbitration cases in previous rounds in the Saudi Professional League. We conducted tests on the laws of the game.

When we were able to collect all the referees again in July, we did a physical preparation for them with fitness tests, exercises and others, and then held other seminars during which all the topics that had been discussed during the previous seminars were held remotely.

The referee preparation process is a bit like a soccer team, so we have two types of physical preparation, technical and tactical preparation, which is essential for professional referees today.

But we are talking about two seasons, how did you manage to restore confidence to them?

During these two seasons, the referees were leading matches in the first division, and some of them switched during the same period to lead matches in the professional league, but with a smaller number, so the preparation was mentally in order to restore confidence in the performance in the professional league, and this includes talking only with the referees as many individual discussions took place And prepare to give the referees the confidence to have their performance at the highest level.

Everyone knows that during those two seasons, many things have changed in the world of arbitration, most notably the adoption of VAR technology

VAR technology they all applied they carried out the whole educational process which is mandatory and it has been implemented by FIFA and the FIFA Council and all local referees passed by it and this also includes the match preparation which means simulation training, technical preparation, but there are off the field matches and matches inside the stadium Therefore, all these requirements came to enable the video referee to achieve these things, so there are a lot of possibilities to work with VAR technology in the Saudi League.

After 7 rounds of the Saudi Professional League, what is your evaluation of the performance of the Saudi referee?

In general, after seven rounds, we are very happy with the performance of the Saudi referees, of course it is normal for mistakes to happen, the referee is a human who can make mistakes like a player who wastes a goal or a penalty kick, but in general we are satisfied with the performance of the Saudi referees, because the preparation was very good .

VAR technology was present, of course, there were errors and we are trying to reduce these errors. We must bear in mind that this technology is a technology, but humans use it as a "tool", so errors are possible even with the use of this technology.

You can look at the major leagues in Europe, you will find mistakes every week despite their use of VAR technology, but here in Saudi Arabia we are satisfied because mistakes that occur can be corrected in what is to come and perform better, and these errors are not those that affect the outcome of the match.

Is it true that you signed contracts with the referees to become semi-professionals?

Referees now have contracts with the Saudi Football Association, and the reason for taking this step is so important is that football is a professional game, and we have professional players and coaches, everything is professional but the referees were not professional.

If you look at the referee’s life, you find that today he has a match and he has another match after 5 days, then what does he do between these two matches? .. He must evaluate his performance, and he must prepare and recover and all this requires a lot of time like a professional player, so the referee is in the leagues Worldwide professionalism, he has a contract or type of income so that he can completely reduce his business or a certain part of the work and can allocate most or all of his work to arbitration The main goal of the professionalism of judges is to be ready to devote completely to arbitration

- How much do they charge now?

Referees currently receive 7 thousand riyals per month, in addition to the fees for the match they referee.

Most of the fans and club presidents object to the number assigned to each club, which is only 7 foreign referees .. Do you see it as a sufficient and logical number?

The decision was taken by the Saudi Football Association with the approval of the heads and officials of the clubs during a meeting, and we think that the number is appropriate and we also want it to be less, but for transfers I think it is a good number and we must start with it trying to reduce this number, because we are very confident that the Saudi referees are at a high level of efficiency to manage All matches.

- The repeated mistakes of the referees and the clubs ’constant protests against the referees, do they put you under pressure to double the number of foreign referees?

After each round, we analyze all matches, all cases, and even semi-errors to find out if there is really a mistake, because sometimes we have to look into the rules of the game, and we also analyze these situations. We also participate with some FIFA coaches around the world, and I also participate with them in discussing some cases, And in the end we get a final decision, and to be honest with you the errors are not very big, and they are not as high as they are said and published in the media.

How do you protect Saudi rulers from club protests with repeated mistakes and media and public pressures?

Errors are what affect the final result, then the referee must assist the VAR technique, and we do not have such errors, only we have one in an offside position and another foul, such as a yellow card that was not declared, a foul that was not counted, or an offside that has no effect in scoring a goal or not passing or Cancel a goal, such errors did not occur.

Regarding how to protect the referees, we analyze and extract information weekly, and as happens everywhere we give confidence to the rulers and provide them with the tools to perform better.

- What we hear from the clubs, the media and the fans is the opposite of what you say, they see there are big mistakes other than the course and results of many matches!

The question is, what's the big mistake, and is it really a big mistake? And this is something that we must analyze with a great deal of understanding, that if the club says this was a big mistake, we are ready to go to the club and discuss the situation, and even with the players, we are ready to go there and analyze these errors that they see, in order to explain to them how our decisions were according to the laws of the game. Was it a mistake or not

- And if the error was major?

If the error is a major one, we understand that we will say it is a mistake and we will try to avoid these errors in the future.

- From observations of the recurrence of some names in a number of rounds. Who chooses the judges for the matches?

Referee meetings are set by the Referees Committee, and these dates are set based on performance levels, and we seek to make a kind of rotation so that the same referee is not repeated with the same team, and when a referee performs two matches for the same team, this is normal as we have a certain limited number of referees.

- The names of the VAR referees in the Technology Department are also repeated for a team in two consecutive rounds, although it has made some mistakes !!

This can happen because sometimes referees are scheduled as VAR referees and referees, and there are circumstances if it is international meetings where not all of the referees have this in addition to the referees' injuries.

Of course, if it happened in one of the matches that the referee or the VAR referee did not perform well, he would not be chosen with the same teams in the next round, and here I want or clarify an example that the referee, "Mamdouh Al-Shahdan", who was in the first and second rounds for the referee of VAR technique twice with the victory team He performed well and of course, this error occurred in the youth match and the victory, and we talked about this error in the press conference because it was unfortunately an offside so that the VAR referee did not correct it, but in the previous rounds when he was chosen as a referee for VAR technology there were no major problems and he performed well.

- There are those who suggest that a foreign VAR judge be assigned with a Saudi arena judge to reduce errors .. What is your comment?

I think it is not a good idea, as there were many times when Saudi rulers were present with Saudi VAR rulers, and the most important characteristic of this cooperation is communication and if you speak the same language, it is easy at the level of describing cases, unlike the presence of a foreign rule.

- The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al-Nasr Club sent the committee a letter requesting an increase in the number of foreign referees. How did you deal with that request?

I repeat, this decision is not the decision of the Saudi Federation alone, but it was after a meeting with the club heads, and we cannot change this number, because the Referees Committee is not the party that can change this number.

When will we see the correct application for using VAR technology in the Saudi Professional League?

The protocol is clear VAR technology, the rule of VAR technology can only intercept 4 different errors, red cards, offside and so on, and our VAR technology referees so far are doing well, but we are human, and the protocol does not cover everything, and I will give you an example, there is a corner kick counted by The error resulted in a target, the VAR judgment does not have an objection because the return of the corner kick decision is not included in the protocol to object, so we have to consider what is allowed and what is not allowed to object.

It is assumed that VAR technology solves all the judges' mistakes. Are the problems we only have in Saudi Arabia?

In the 2018 World Cup, VAR technology was similar to the best technology in the world, and yet we did not reach 100% accuracy, and this is an example that enables us to say that we are human beings, and wherever humans work, errors may occur.

Who controls the selection of which shots are shown in the VAR room?

What is captured by the cameras on the stadium goes directly to the video attics room, and both the operator and the referee of VAR technology choose the angle that gives the best possible view of the missed events, and these footage are presented by the television broadcasters, but in the end the VAR technology judge and the operator together choose the right angle To see events that you may have missed.

How many cameras are used in one game?

The minimum is 13 and the maximum is 32, which is the number we had in the Copa del Rey final.

In international periodicals, is the matter different by allocating different cameras to the VAR room from the cameras of the carrier?

All the major leagues use exactly the same cameras as the broadcaster as there are in Saudi Arabia, we have at least 13 cameras, and in the VAR room they use the same broadcast cameras in the stadium.

- VAR is always a subject of controversy as it puts the audience confused about its matter, especially in similar cases. Some of them go to the screen to watch it in return for a similar case does not go?

In the event that there is a mistake on the field, such as a penalty kick, for example, the referee on the field is the first and last decision maker, so during the match a possible penalty may be missed and then the VAR referee automatically intervenes to confirm immediately that there is a possibility of a mistake, and if the error is evident here the referee must VAR technology communicating with the referee .. and how does he communicate with him? He must ask the referee “What did you see” and then the judge can say “I did not see anything” or “Well I saw a slight touch on the foot.” If the referee says specifically what the referee saw on the VAR technique on the screen and then the referee says there is no contravention, then there is no need to object or Changing a decision on the pitch, and changing the decision usually leaves the referee as the final decision maker in this, and if it happened and the vision was not clear and inconsistent with what the referee saw, then he recommends reviewing the shot

- We share VAR room chats like it happened recently, is this putting you under pressure in the future?

The publication of these conversations is permitted for educational purposes, according to the FIFA circular that was sent last September, and it is not permitted to publish the voice live during the match so that we hear the discussion taking place between them.

It was previously announced that there was a scholarship project for the Saudi rulers, what is new about this project?

We are in contact with the federations to obtain some kind of cooperation and share different ideas and various development programs, and I am sure that we will reach fruitful cooperation with the members of the different federations in the future.

How do you see the future of Saudi rule in the next five years?

I think that the Saudi referees have this long-term vision, and I am confident that they will be properly governing their league, which is what we see now in the AFC Champions League, we have a representative there for the Saudi referees, and in the future if we continue to work like this we can have referees. Saudis in the final matches of the AFC Champions League as well as in international competitions such as the World Cup.

Is there a specific question you were waiting to be asked?

I don’t know the question .. The answer is I want to be understanding and honest with all clubs. If someone has a question or something unclear, please contact us and we will discuss this situation together.

Is communication with the knowledge of the Saudi Federation?

Certainly with the approval of the president of the federation, he himself gave my phone number to the other presidents

Some fans accuse the Referees Committee of favoring the mass clubs .. How do you see that?

It is a weak and completely incorrect idea, in all the world leagues there are big clubs, but the referees do not care or care whether there is a big club or not, because they are the protectors of the law and they respect the law and try to do their best.

- The head of the committee interfered with you from outside Saudi Arabia at the last meeting, was he not supposed to be with you permanently?

The presidents of the Referees Committee do not work on a daily basis in the Federation, and this matter is not a problem in the world, not even here, you should know that I am in personal contact with "Fernando Tresaco", Chairman of the Referees Committee on a daily basis, and now in the circumstances of the Corona pandemic, you know that many Of the flute they do not work from their desks, however the Chairman of the Referees Committee is in close contact with us and will be in the country soon.

The matter that must be understood is that we have two different pillars, the first is that the members of the committee are responsible for the arbitration strategy in the Kingdom and the assignments of the referees, and the second pillar is the arbitration section that I head, and the department is responsible for all administrative work, such as the assignments of the referees, flights, hotels, media briefs, educational materials, and so on.

A message you would like to send to the public about the Saudi government?

If we take a look at the performance of Saudi rulers compared to the best international rulers that we brought here in Saudi Arabia, despite the word "better", the performance in assessing errors was better for Saudi rulers than their international counterparts.



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