LaLiga and the Royal Spanish Football Federation begin publishing VAR audio conversations to enhance the fan experience

LaLiga and the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) have agreed to begin publishing the audio conversations along with the video footage between the on-field referee and the VAR when there is a decision review during a match. The audio is being made available through the official competition operators and at the end of each competition day during a matchday.

This scheme commenced on Matchday 20 of LaLiga and Matchday 22 of LaLiga Segunda Divisió, scheduled for the 12 to 15 January. It debuted in the Spanish Super Cup organised by the RFEF, both in the semi-finals on 10 and 11 January and in the final on Sunday 14 January.

The initiative opens a new phase of collaboration and cooperation between the RFEF, the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) and LaLiga, with the aim of making refereeing in professional football and the competitions themselves more transparent.

Roger Brosel, head of content at LaLiga, said on social media of the move: “The conversations between the referees and the VAR will be released right after the last game of the day. It will be an unprecedented step forward that will massively improve the storytelling of our content and will offer more transparency for all football fans.

“We’ve been working together with Luis Gil Torres and Luis Medina Cantalejo with his team at the CTA to make this happen and, finally, it’s here!”

Releasing the images and audio recordings at the end of each competition day (Saturday, Sunday and Monday), will improve the fan experience and enhance the understanding viewers have of refereeing decisions, thus improving the competitions as a whole, the two organisations said.

In the coming days, both the RFEF and LaLiga will provide more information and explanatory materials on social networks to help fans and the media understand how this new approach will work.