The FIFA panel overseeing women’s World Cup preparations has recommended using video review to help referees, clearing the path for final confirmation next week.
The plan has strong backers in FIFA president Gianni Infantino and UEFA leader Aleksander Ceferin, who chaired Monday’s meeting of the organising committee for world soccer competitions.
At a meeting in Miami next week, FIFA’s ruling council is set to ratify video assistants being deployed to help referees at the June 7-July 7 tournament in France.
The video assistant referee (VAR) system will likely include men helping advise all-female teams of referees and assistants. No domestic women’s competition uses VAR.
It was revealed in February that FIFA was set to use VAR at its women’s showpiece after months of uncertainty.
Some men with experience working as VARs at the 2018 World Cup in Russia took part in trials at a boys’ youth tournament in Qatar last month with women’s World Cup match officials.
“The tests were quite positive,” Infantino said on Saturday.
“I would of course wish that we do use VAR at the women’s World Cup.”