Referees to Wear Body Cameras at Club World Cup

Referees to Wear Body Cameras at Club World Cup –  FIFA has announced a major shake-up in officiating for the upcoming Club World Cup, including the trial use of body cameras for referees and stricter enforcement of time-wasting rules for goalkeepers.

The tournament, scheduled to take place in the United States from June 14 to July 13, will feature 32 teams and new directives aimed at improving the flow of the game.

One of the most striking changes involves penalizing goalkeepers who hold the ball too long.

If a goalkeeper clutches the ball for more than eight seconds, the opposing team will be awarded a corner kick.

While goalkeepers are currently required to release the ball within six seconds—with infractions typically resulting in an indirect free-kick—the rule is rarely enforced.

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FIFA hopes this new measure will encourage quicker play. “It’s about keeping the game moving and making sure fans get the most action possible,” a FIFA spokesperson explained.

In addition to the time-wasting clampdown, referees will wear body cameras for the first time at a FIFA tournament.

This trial initiative, approved last month by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), is designed to offer fans and officials a new perspective on in-game decisions.

Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA referees committee, highlighted the dual benefits of the innovation. “We think that it is a good chance to offer the viewers a new experience, in terms of images taken from a perspective, from an angle of vision which was never offered before,” he said.

He also stressed the cameras’ value in training and evaluation.

“Having the possibility to see what the referee sees is important in the debriefing—to evaluate how the call was made, which was his view, and so on,” Collina added.