Ref cam to be trialled on TV for Arsenal–Manchester City clash

The Premier League and the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) will make referees' body-camera footage available to television viewers for Arsenal's home match against Manchester City on Sept. 21, the league confirmed.

The trialled system, known as a ref cam, equips match officials with a small camera mounted on their shirts along with an earpiece and a microphone to provide broadcasters with the referee's point of view. The measure is being tested at selected top-flight fixtures this season and will be used at what is expected to be a tightly contested meeting between the clubs.

The decision to deploy the ref cam for Arsenal versus Manchester City follows a series of acrimonious encounters between the sides, most notably last season's match at the Etihad Stadium. That fixture saw City players Kyle Walker and John Stones accuse Arsenal of resorting to "dark arts" as the visitors tried to protect a 2-1 lead with 10 men, and Pep Guardiola criticised what he described as time-wasting after City's 98th-minute equaliser.

The Etihad meeting included several contentious moments. Substitute Myles Lewis-Skelly was booked for unsporting behaviour after appearing to relay a message to Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya while warming up behind the goal. Referee Michael Oliver observed the exchange, and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, a former City coach, used the subsequent break in play to speak to his outfield players.

League and match-officials' officials say the ref cam trials are intended to enhance transparency for broadcast audiences and to allow viewers to better understand referees' perspectives during matches. The PGMOL has previously employed a variety of technological trials; the body-camera element represents a further expansion of in-stadium and broadcast cooperation.

Separately, the Football Association is preparing for a potentially tense England away fixture in Belgrade on Tuesday night and will deploy stewards to the match. Sections of the stadium remain closed because of racist behaviour in a prior fixture, and disorder occurred before a meeting between the countries at last summer's European Championship in Gelsenkirchen, where seven Serbian nationals were arrested. England's 2,500-ticket allocation has sold out and officials said there are concerns that hundreds more supporters may travel without tickets.

Other items in sport this week include post-departure anecdotes about former Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy. His abrupt exit from the club last week prompted recollections of his reputation as a hard negotiator and as someone averse to publicity; one anecdote relayed that he once switched seats on a long flight to avoid sitting next to a journalist.

At the International Olympic Committee, newly elected president Kirsty Coventry has made senior staffing appointments that include two Britons. Jan Paterson, a former director at the British Olympic Association and currently managing director of sport at the Saudi project NEOM, has been named chief of staff. James Pearce, an ex-BBC journalist who worked on Coventry's campaign, has been appointed chief communications advisor. Mark Adams, an IOC spokesman with close political connections, is expected to remain in post.

In lower-league football, Carlisle United handed out a free programme and a voucher for a drink and a pie to 78 Truro City supporters who made an almost 900-mile round trip from Cornwall to Cumbria to watch their side, in what organisers called an English football record for the longest away support. Carlisle said the gesture was a recognition of the commitment of the travelling fans.

Karate world champion Geoff Thompson MBE has published an autobiography titled 'Big Black B*****d'. Thompson, who won world championship gold in 1982, wrote about his upbringing as the son of Windrush-era parents in Wolverhampton and later in London's East End, where he took up karate amid racially charged street violence. He has served on several sports boards and worked as an adviser to the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

The Premier League will continue to evaluate ref-cam trials over the coming fixtures, with decisions on any broader roll-out to be made after assessing the impact on broadcasts, officiating and match operations.