Crystal Palace vs Manchester United referee to wear camera in Premier League first

The referee for Crystal Palace’s match against Manchester United on Monday will wear a “RefCam” in a first for the Premier League.

Jarred Gillett will wear the camera to collect footage that will be used as part of a one-off short program promoting match officials to be shown later this year.

A statement from the Premier League read: “This footage will not be broadcast live but fans will be able to view it later in the year as part of a program being produced by Premier League Productions (PLP) aimed at offering further insight and education into the demands of officiating in the Premier League.

“The technology comprises a head-mounted device which is integrated into the usual referee communications system.

“Its one-off use for educational purposes has been approved by The IFAB, the Premier League, PGMOL and both clubs.

“We would like to thank Crystal Palace and Manchester United for their support with this project.”

Refereeing standards have been regularly called into question this season after a number of contentious decisions.

Nottingham Forest publicly questioned the integrity of video assistant referee Stuart Attwell and considered suing officiating body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) after the 2-0 defeat to Everton on April 21.

Liverpool said that they would “explore all the options available” and later requested to receive audio of the exchange between referee Simon Hooper and those in the VAR room at Stockley Park after their wrongly disallowed goal against Tottenham in September.

Arsenal called on PGMOL to “urgently address the standard of officiating” in the Premier League following what they labeled “unacceptable” errors during their 1-0 defeat against Newcastle United in November.

(Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)