IFAB decides against broadcasting live VAR decisions following Luis Diaz incident

The International Football Association Board’s (IFAB) chief executive has chosen not to allow audio from on-field VAR rulings to be aired live.

Football’s regulatory authorities are embroiled in controversy with Liverpool forward Luis Diaz’s earlier-season goal against Tottenham being disallowed due to a misunderstanding between the referee and VAR officials.

The plans to play out the talks we have lately seen on Monday Night Football by Howard Webb and others are not up for discussion.

The IFAB is still following the announcement of the final decision made by officials, much like we saw at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

With the protection of the officials paramount, questions are again being asked about the transparency or the immediate lack of seen from football’s governing bodies.

IFAB secretary Lukas Brud recently told BBC Radio 5 Live how he and his team landed at the decision regarding the broadcasting of audio.

“I categorically say no, they shouldn’t [be played out live,]” he began. “I was allowed to observe and see communication between match officials during a review and it is quite a chaotic situation, not in a negative sense but there’s many people talking at the same time and I think it would be counterproductive for anyone to listen to all those voices talking to each other.

“Then you have the VAR and the assistant VAR, the replay operators, the referee and maybe even the assistant referees and fourth official, so all of a sudden it becomes quite a chaotic experience.

“We have given the green light to test the announcement of decisions to bring a little more transparency to decision-making, but we are not prepared at this point to open up communication live to the audience.”

With Diaz’s incident in north London unlikely to be the last of the same ilk, Brud also discussed how the rules should not continue to be scrutinised just because of one case of human error.

We always have to remember these things don’t happen very often,” he added. “We should not immediately start questioning the entire setup because in one of thousands of matches this situation has occurred.

“Certainly we are going to improve if need be certain areas of VAR. Whether we need to solve an issue where humans made an error, let’s see.”

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The player’s parents were at a petrol station in a town near Colombia’s border with Venezuela when they were abducted by armed men.

The star’s mother was rescued hours later, but the search for his father continues.

The star’s parents were at a petrol station in the town of Barrancas, near Colombia’s border with Venezuela, on Saturday when they were abducted by armed men on motorcycles.

The winger’s mother, Cilenis Marulanda, was rescued within hours by police after roadblocks were set up – but the search continues for his father Luis Manuel Diaz.

The footballer issued the appeal via an Instagram Story post on Tuesday night – as his mother and other family members took part in a vigil calling for the release of their relative.

The 26-year-old posted an image advertising the event, which said: “March for the release of ‘Mane’ Diaz”.

The post also featured details of the time and location of the vigil, and added: “Bring your candle to light the light of hope – FREE HIM NOW!”

Police air and land patrols have been searching a forest in northern Colombia amid growing fears Diaz’s father may have been smuggled across the border into Venezuela.

Colombian special forces have also been involved in the search of the region, which includes a mountain range that straddles both countries.

Police have offered a $48,000 (£39,000) reward for information which leads to the rescue of Mr Diaz.

Officers believe they have identified two suspects involved, The Guardian reported.

Criminals in Colombia have long kidnapped civilians for ransom in order to finance their operations, but cases have increased in recent years.

The escalation comes despite efforts by the government to broker ceasefires with rebel groups.

Diaz is widely regarded as one of Colombia’s most talented players and joined Liverpool from Porto last year in a deal said to be worth around £50m.

So far, no groups have taken responsibility for the kidnapping.

Thousands of fans, football authorities and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp are among those who have sent messages of support to the player.