After hand play last year, the emphasis this year was on VAR, after some refereeing errors in recent months. The most important change for the play-offs is that permanent VAR teams will be appointed. “These are not big changes yet, but we are taking it little by little. What is especially needed is serenity around our referees. But we must first look at ourselves and ensure that the performances are there and that the major mistakes that have occurred recently are resolved,” said Peter Willems, new director of the Professional Refereeing Department (PRD). of the Royal Belgian Football Association KBVB.
“We will then launch a positive and ambitious plan for next season. We will keep what is good and we will improve what can be done. In the long term, we want to achieve 90 percent correct decisions on the field, and 99 percent after VAR intervention. Now we are at 87.2 percent on the field and after VAR intervention at 94.5 percent. That it is possible was evident last year during the play-offs. Then 93 percent of the decisions made on the field were correct.”
Several ways are being considered to reduce the margin of error. “First of all, these are already improvements in technology, for example in the way the lines are drawn. In addition, existing protocols and processes must be better applied. In the long term we certainly want to see whether or not we will work with professional refs. Now the refs are semi-pros, and there are also assistants and VARs. That is often a difficult puzzle to solve. Communication can also be improved. We are looking at ways to better inform spectators during matches.”
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KBVB CEO Piet Vandendriessche also joined during the press moment. It is all still relatively new for him, as he has only been appointed since the end of last year. “We are coming out of a turbulent period. I have therefore made arbitration one of my priorities. I asked experts for advice, implemented changes and brought in Peter Willems. We wanted to restore calm,” the CEO explained on Wednesday.
“Our refs are professionals who give the best of themselves every week. They deserve our support and respect. They remain people who try to assess every situation correctly, but unfortunately make mistakes every now and then. We will do everything we can to avoid these mistakes in the future as much as possible.”
Vaste VAR-teams in play-offs
In the Play-offs of the Jupiler Pro League, which start on Friday, permanent VAR teams will be used, it was announced on Wednesday in Tubize during a press moment of the Professional Refereeing Department (PRD) of the Royal Belgian Football Association KBVB . It is one of the novelties with which the PRD wants to improve communication between VAR operators and the level of arbitration.
As is the annual custom, clubs and media were invited to Tubize to finalize the arbitration before the start of the play-offs. Subsequently, workshops were organized for the coaches and a number of players from the 1A teams. Referees and VAR operators shared their insights on four key themes: VAR, handball, offside and reckless behaviour.
While there were complaints last year about the application of the rules regarding hand play, this season the referees found themselves in the eye of the storm, after several questionable decisions that were subsequently not corrected by the VAR. Because of these refereeing errors, threats were made to have Anderlecht – KRC Genk, KV Mechelen – Club Brugge and KV Mechelen – RWDM replayed. The Belgian Court of Arbitration for Sport (BAS) put a stop to this at the beginning of last month.
To make matters worse, the referee reports were leaked in the press at the beginning of February. The association promptly ordered an external audit to find out who the ‘mole’ was, by having referees and PRD members examine their computers and mobile phones. A few weeks later, even more drastic measures were taken. Peter Willems, former CEO of Oud-Heverlee Leuven, was appointed director of the Professional Refereeing Department. After all, the German Herbert Fandel left the organization after 2.5 years and the Frenchman Bertrand Layec will also leave at the end of this season. His contract will not be extended in June.
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Stephanie Forde remains responsible for the operational aspect of Belgian arbitration, and Frank De Bleeckere for the guidance and advancement of young referees. Kevin Blom and Christophe Dierick are responsible for the video referee (VAR). Layec will remain responsible for the technical support of the referees until June. The search for his successor will start soon.
Willems wants to build on last season’s excellent play-offs. “These were extremely successful, thanks to specific competition preparations, teamwork and good physical preparedness,” the new director explained. “We are changing the allocation system for this year. No longer one person, but a team will make the decisions. We also provide the refs with a tactical football analysis report, with information about the teams in question. A ref must be able to anticipate better. In addition, our permanent VAR teams will always work together. This should ensure better communication with each other and with the site. We place the puzzle every two playing days. In Play-off II we want to give opportunities to emerging talents and return to a system of observers. After all, we sense that not everyone knows the rules (Laws of the Game, ed.) yet. We will explain these rules in more detail in videos. The play-offs will also be played with a VAR in 1B. A kind of alternative VAR, because there are fewer cameras there.”
