Will referees announce VAR decisions out loud at WC26?

One of the long-standing complaints about VAR was the 'silent review' — fans in the stadium had no idea why play stopped for 4 minutes, then suddenly a goal was disallowed without explanation. The 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand trialled PA announcements after every formal VAR review. The crowd applauded it.

At WC26, the protocol is permanent. After every on-field review (where the referee goes to the pitchside monitor), the referee announces three things over the stadium PA in English: the incident reviewed, the decision before the review, and the decision after. Example: 'Following review for a possible offside in the build-up to the goal — the decision is GOAL.'

Why English: it's the standard FIFA tournament language. Each host country also gets a local-language voiceover from the stadium announcer right after the referee's English version, so Mexican fans at the Estadio Azteca hear it in Spanish moments later.

What doesn't get announced: 'check complete' reviews (VAR clears the original decision without going to the monitor) are still silent — the referee just signals to restart play. Only formal on-field reviews trigger an announcement. A live counter at the bottom of the broadcast feed also tells TV viewers how long the review is taking.