Referee-mounted camera used in German Bundesliga for first time By George Bevir
Tuesday, February 27, 2024 - 10:13
Print This Story
A camera was mounted to a referee during a German Bundesliga fixture for the first time on Sunday (25 February 2024), with the official in charge of the tie between Eintracht Frankfurt and VfL Wolfsburg equipped with a Riedel-developed camera and microphone.
Referee Daniel Schlager was fitted with the RefCam device to provide viewers with a close-up view of the referee's perspective and to show the challenges faced by match officials.
The content captured by the camera and microphone will be used from 12 March in a monthly 30-minute programme Referees Mic'd up - Bundesliga'. Produced by DFL Digital Sports, the programme will be made available to national and international media partners.
Referee Patrick Kessel with the head unit of Riedel's RefCam
The initiative was authorised by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) and required coordination between various stakeholders including the German Football Association (DFB), the DFL Deutsche Fu ball Liga, the participating clubs Eintracht Frankfurt and VfL Wolfsburg, and the referees.
Riedel programme manager global events Jan Schaffner explained to SVG Europe that the development of RefCam began in 2020 after the company was initially asked to assist referees in Germany with their training sessions.
It's a completely new development and an entirely Riedel-developed camera, said Schaffner. It is comprised of two components: a head unit which is mounted on the headset, along with comms system head unit connected to a transmission unit. There is a live version and a version with a recording unit, which is what was used at the weekend. And it's possible to mute and shut down the microphone if needed.
Interested in innovation and football production?
SVG Europe's Football Summit takes place on Thursday 29 February in Brussels
For more information, visit svgeurope.org/football-summit-2024
Schaffner said RefCam was developed with referees Patrick Kessel and Nicholas Winter, with whom Riedel has formed a joint venture called In-YS (In Your Shoes).
It's really important to know what referees think, and how they use this kind of technology and to make sure that we are able to address any concerns that referees might have about how RefCam can be used, said Schaffner.
Current IFAB regulations only allow for images from a referee-mounted camera to be recorded rather than transmitted live.
We have used [the live version] in training so we know we can create beautiful broadcast images, but we must respect the IFAB regulations, said Schaffner.
Following its use at the weekend, RefCam will be reviewed by Riedel with the Bundesliga to see if any changes are needed before it's used again in the league.
Looking ahead, Schaffner explained that RefCam would be offered via Riedel's Managed Technology division. Comprised of custom-engineered technologies paired with supervision and support by Riedel-qualified engineers, one of the first projects overseen by the division was the DFL's work with Riedel to design a reliable infrastructure for German Bundesliga referee communications.
Referee Daniel Schlager tested RefCam on 17 December during the match between Arminia Bielefeld and TSV 1860 Munich in the 3rd division.
The use of a ref cam builds on some previous uses of mics in other European countries last season; in April last year, referee Emily Heaslip wore a mic during Chelsea's match against Reading in the Women's Super League. In the same month, Ligue 1 referee Benoit Millot was mic'd up for the fixture between Lyon and Nantes, with Amazon Prime sharing footage on social media.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
Referee-mounted camera used in German Bundesliga for first time By George Bevir 
