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“We instructed the referees before tournament began, that they can use the video on jumbotron in case they’re not sure,” said Jaroslav Pikula, who is the head of the refereeing committee at the Czech Ball Hockey Federation.
The Canadian officials made three mistakes during the aforementioned game between the Czech Republic and USA: they allowed an illegal goal by Team USA to make it 2-2, they did not allow a good goal by Team Czech Republic which would have made it 3-1, and they allowed an illegal goal by Team Czech Republic to make it 2-1, which was scored into a dislocated goal.
“On these occasions, they should have used the jumbotron. That was their mistake and they were reprimanded for it. It’s good that the situations were broadcast, as the referees were supposed to use it at their discretion. Once the following faceoff has been conducted, the decision can’t be changed anymore,” Pikula said of the situation.
“With the board of the tournament, we have agreed on allowing a video official for disputed situations. We will specify the moments where this will be allowed, for sure with goal situations regarding the position of the net, goal line crossing, etc. Our goal is to ensure that games are decided fairly, according to the rules,” Piskula continued.
The video official will be connected to the timekeeper’s box and will be able to analyze situations based on instructions from the game referees. This will be available for playoff games played at Tipsport Arena, starting with the women’s semi-finals and men’s quarter-finals. The process will be similar to ice hockey.
“Ball hockey is a fast sport and especially difficult for the referees. The Czech Republic vs USA game was completely messed up. On the other hand, I’m glad to say that the Czech and Slovak referees have performed perfectly so far,” the chairman added.