Dec. 9 – Padel, too, has its Video Review – also known as Revision de Video – an evolution that goes hand in hand with the exponential growth of the movement, to the point that the Premier Padel circuit, in the eight seasonal tournaments that also count the four Majors (Rome, Doha, Paris, Monterrey), has introduced the video review technology to assist the chair umpire. Therefore, at Premier Padel in Milan, players can ask for the referee’s intervention on uncertain points: the most frequent are the in or out on the glass and the possible invasion at the net by a player. The rules are very clear: Two calls – per set – per pair but with a bonus: if the technology agrees with the person who asked for its intervention, the calls provided remain two. If, on the other hand, if the ‘calling’ player is wrong, that call is ‘scaled down’ for the ongoing set. The difference with football is significant: in football, a penalty foul before a goal results in the goal being disallowed and the penalty being awarded. In padel, on the other hand, players can immediately stop the exchange and bring in the ‘Var’, which can only analyze one play (the one flagged) and cannot go back or go on with the match images. This is why it could be called ‘Instant Var’. How does the dialogue between the referee and the Video review room work? As soon as the call comes in, the chair umpire puts on the headset and communicates with the ‘screen’ referee (assisted by a video technician), who watches and covers the action with the (many) cameras available. Once the right image is found, the decision arrives, but it is not made official until it is broadcast to the audience present through the ‘Cube’ made of four big-screens available to spectators. This is a high-profile procedure that requires cutting-edge know-how and technology and unfolds very quickly. The cameras that, like a ‘Big Brother’ of padel, quickly allow the ‘check’ to be concluded and the game to continue come into action. And the players? They calmly await the decision of the review, chatting or joking with each other under the sign of fair play. The difference with other sports, in this regard as well, is huge.
‘Revision de Video’, ‘Video review’ between high technology and fair play among players.
