Premier League holds talks with Ifab over plans to introduce Ref Cams next season

The Premier League wants to introduce Ref Cams to offer extra in-game footage to broadcasters. The tiny cameras, mounted on a referee’s ear to provide TV viewers with a unique view of the action, have been trialled by Fifa during the Club World Cup over the past month.

The Premier League has held talks with the International Football Association Board (Ifab), which determines the laws of the game, about whether the trial can be extended to domestic competitions.

If Ifab approval is given, Ref Cams could be trialled by the Premier League in its Summer Series tournament this month in the US, featuring Manchester United, Everton, West Ham and Bournemouth, with a view to potentially using them next season.

The introduction of Ref Cams in the league would have to be approved by the clubs, so it would not be ready for the start of the campaign, and even if adopted they may not be used in every game.

The introduction of Ref Cams would be welcomed by the Premier League’s rights holders, who have been impressed at its use by Dazn. A new £3bn domestic broadcast deal with Sky Sports and TNT Sports starts next season. The Premier League and Ifab declined to comment.

Jarred Gillett wore a head-mounted Ref Cam during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Manchester United in a trial in May 2024, although footage was not broadcast during the game. The league trialled chest-mounted GoPro cameras, worn by Rob Jones and Peter Bankes in its US Summer Series two years ago without broadcasting the action during matches.

At the Club World Cup, the Ref Cam footage has been used by Dazn to supply instant replays and has been shown on big screens at the stadiums. Other European leagues have also been impressed with the results, which take viewers closer to the action, showcasing the players’ speed and skill in real time.

It involves referees wearing tiny cameras on their right ear, connected to a microphone and transmitter which sends video to the broadcasters. Two wires – one for the camera and the other for a microphone – are on the back of the referee’s shirt and a transmitter is placed in a pocket of their shorts.

Fifa tested other cameras before the Club World Cup, including some at chest level, but its referees committee concluded that the side of the ear provided the best perspective. Fifa has been happy with the Ref Cam trial and will hold discussions about using it at next year’s World Cup.

“The outcome of using the Ref Cam here at the Fifa Club World Cup 2025 went beyond our expectations,” Pierluigi Collina, the chair of the Fifa referees committee, said. Collina said the cameras had an additional benefit in helping referees and VARs, by showing when the official has not had clear sight of a major incident. In a group game between Paris Saint-Germain and Atlético Madrid, for example, the referee did not see a handball incident by an Atlético defender because a player blocked his line of vision.

“The video assistant referee alerted the referee, who awarded a penalty to Paris Saint-Germain after reviewing the incident on the pitch side monitor,” Collina said. “The system is working.”