Pierluigi Collina, the Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, says that he is very happy with the refereeing innovations introduced at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, including body cameras for referees, advanced semi-automated offside technology and the new eight-second rule aimed at cutting down time-wasting by goalkeepers. The inaugural edition of the new 32-team tournament was the first FIFA competition to feature body cams and Mr Collina said they have received a positive reception. The trial aimed to explore whether the new camera angle can improve the experience for those watching on television and online by showcasing the referee’s perspective.

“The outcome of using the ref cam here at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 went beyond our expectations. We thought it would have been an interesting experience for TV viewers and we’ve received great comments,” said Mr Collina. “We were asked: ‘Why not in all the matches?’ and even more: ‘Why not in all sports?’“ He added that, while it provided enjoyment for the public, it was also “very, very positive” for FIFA’s own purposes. “We had the possibility to see what the referee sees on the field of play. And this was not only for entertainment purposes, but also for coaching the referees (and) to explain why something was not seen on the field of play,” he said.

One example was the group stage match between Atlético de Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, where the referee did not see a handball incident by an Atlético defender because a player blocked his line of vision. “From this ref cam, (it) was absolutely clear that the referee could not have seen that incident live on the pitch,” Mr Collina said. The video assistant referee (VAR) alerted the referee who awarded a penalty to Paris Saint-Germain after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor. The tournament also saw the introduction of an amendment to Law 12.2a, passed by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) at its 139th Annual General Meeting on 1 March 2025. Under the new rule, a corner kick is awarded to the attacking team if a goalkeeper holds the ball for longer than eight seconds, with the referee using a visual five-second countdown. Previously, the referee would award an indirect free kick if the goalkeeper kept the ball for more than six seconds.

“It was very successful; the tempo of the match was improved. We had no time lost by goalkeepers keeping the ball between their hands for a very long time – as happened quite often in matches before,” said Mr Collina, adding that violations were kept to a minimum with the new law. “The fact that only two goalkeepers were punished means that they really respected the rule. And by doing that, we achieved the purpose that we wanted, which was not to give corner kicks, but prevent the eight seconds rule from being not respected. The purpose was 100% achieved.”

An advanced version of the semi-automated offside technology helped speed up the decisions for offside situations and Mr Collina said this helped avoid situations where forwards run 30 to 40 metres only for the flag to be raised at the end. “The alert went to the assistant referees well before, when there was a clear offside position. So, it worked very well, we have the goals disallowed, correctly disallowed; we also had correct decisions supported by the semi-automatic offside technology – [we are] very happy, very pleased,” Mr Collina said. A total of 117 match officials – 35 referees, 58 assistant referees and 24 video match officials – from 41 member associations were appointed to take charge of the 63 matches during the tournament. “It was a great competition. The people attending the matches confirm this, it was well played by players and well refereed by match officials. And all the referees who are here are 100% proud of being part, of having been part of this first time ever,” Mr Collina concluded.