The match official for Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United is involved in a test.
Jarred Gillet will wear a camera during Crystal Palace vs Man United. (Image: Getty)
Jarred Gillet, a Premier League referee, will have a camera mounted on his head when Crystal Palace and Manchester United play this evening. This “RefCam” gadget is the first of its kind to be utilized for a Premier League match.
The tool will record player-referee interactions while they happen on the field, and the video will be featured on a special episode of Match Officials Mic’d Up. The show, which will air on Sky Sports, features PGMOL CEO Howard Webb discussing contentious referee rulings.
However, Gillet has participated in referee experiments before. Five years ago, an A-League match went viral and a video of the Australian official interacting with players went viral. Gillet, a Premier League referee since 2021, later acknowledged, though, that he was unaware the video was going to be shown to an audience.
He said, “It is interesting because the mic situation—I wasn’t broadcast live on TV regarding the game’s time that night, and I wasn’t even aware that my communications would be used in the manner they were after the game—when he spoke at the time.
In actuality, what was later produced and released was real and authentic, and I had no idea that would occur. As for the authenticity and the manner in which the communications were delivered, that is simply our weekly routine communication kit. Here, it is the same.”
“Those conversations that take place with players are normal; they are simply unheard because live broadcasting of communications is currently prohibited,” he continued. The types of conversations that take place between players and referees are somewhat secretive. That was just ordinary for me.
It happens at the same time that Premier League officials and PGMOL chief Webb are investigating fresh ways to inform fans of referee rulings. Referees providing in-stadium VAR explanations have been suggested; the Premier League discussed this possibility at its April shareholders’ meeting.
The announcements, which called for referees to discuss decisions with spectators on large screens, were tested out during the 2023 Women’s World Cup and had previously been implemented for a number of youth competitions. Speaking on the Mic’d Up program, Webb disclosed that he is putting a lot of effort into enhancing the VAR experience for spectators at games.
“It does need improving, doesn’t it?” he said. The VAR rulings make sense when you listen to the clips on programs like this one.
