From now on, the number of complaints concerning refereeing should be as low as possible. Of course, we still have a lot to work on that, until the video recording will be accepted - like it is in the U.S. football league - but a big step has been made in the Premiership, with a new microphone system, specially designed for referees.

Keith Hackett, the chief of English refereeing, has stated that, starting next season, the referees will use a new radio communication system, which will allow them to speed up the decision process during the matches. It will also affect the communication between the linesmen and the main referee, making it easier for all of them to judge the events on the field with high accuracy.

"The communication system will be in place in the Premiership next season. These are aids that will improve the standards of refereeing", said Hackett. The new system will be used during this year's FIFA World Cup in Germany.

"The referee has an open mic, his two assistants and fourth official can hear what is being said by him so they can have an insight into the feel of the game. The referee can ask questions to his assistants with a push-to-talk mic system that can be used to talk to the referee. It has lots of benefits - the most important being speed of communication. Graham Poll is one of the people who has been field-testing this both with ourselves and with UEFA. Graham and his assistants Philip Sharp and Glenn Turner have been very, very praiseworthy about it", concluded Keith Hackett.

As for how this new system will work, it is believed that it will be one of the good ideas the referees have had over the past years. After trying to implement a 4 - referee line in the Coppa Italia a few years ago, it has been proved that the system was a total failure. Still, the refereeing bodies are refusing to take a chance and try the American football system, in which the decisions are made upon the video recording tapes. Sepp Bletter has stated that this system would practically "kill" refereeing, and raise the length of the game to an indefinite time.