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Reveal Media is delighted to announce that it has been chosen by The England Football Association (The FA) as their technology partner for an upcoming trial across the English football leagues to tackle the levels of abuse and aggression directed towards referees.
Abusive and aggressive behaviour towards referees is at an all-time high. In the latest survey conducted by BBC Radio 5 Live with 927 referees, 98% said they'd experienced verbal abuse from either spectators, players, coaches or managers. This is impacting referees’ mental health and retention is dwindling due to safety concerns. As one of its initiatives to combat the issue, The FA has selected Reveal’s Referee Safety Cam for a first-of-its-kind trial and has distributed the technology to referees across four leagues up and down the country for initial tests.
Alasdair Field, CEO, comments "We are incredibly proud to have been selected by the FA as their technology partner for this grassroots football trial. I experienced the issue of abuse directed towards officials personally when I refereed for under 10s football for a couple of years and ultimately the amount of abuse I received destroyed the enjoyment and led me to giving up. Understanding that this was a rampant problem led to us adapting our camera for the requirements of match play as I could envision our front-facing screen technology having real potential to de-escalate situations and even deter them from happening. We are excited for the upcoming trial and look forward to playing our part in the support of the referee community and to help revive the joy of officiating".
The selected camera model is Reveal’s KS4 camera which has been specifically designed to withstand the rigors of match play while being comfortable and unobtrusive for a referee to wear. It retains all the features and technological innovations that has made Reveal body-worn cameras the leading behavior management tool in other industries facing similar issues of abuse and aggression.
The act of wearing a Reveal body-worn camera has been shown to deter poor behavior. Once the aggressor is warned and the recording feature is switched on, the signature front-facing screen comes into play. Often, the act of seeing themselves serves to de-escalate a situation. However, should the worst case happen, the crystal clear audio and video recording, alongside Reveal’s pre-record feature, will ensure the entire incident is documented and available for recall at a future disciplinary. All footage is encrypted and securely stored, with only authorized personnel able to access and share the footage if needed.
For more information about the technology and whether your sport could be eligible for a similar trial, inquire now and one of our experts will be in touch.
Read more about our Body cameras for Sports.