Video experiment set for women's Hockey World Cup

Hockey will experiment with video referees at the women's World Cup starting on November 24 in Perth, Australia, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced on Friday.

The FIH said the trial will have no influence on matches at the tournament, but will provide feedback on the possible use of video technology to assist match officials in the future.

Peter Cohen, honorary secretary general of the FIH, said: "The ever-increasing standards of play demand us to examine if it's desirable to join other sports, such as cricket, rugby union and league in the use of the video umpire.

"We must, however, proceed with a very cautious and analytical attitude because the video umpire is still not without occasional controversy in those sports.

"The use of a `dry-run' at the World Cup will provide us with very important practical feedback to help us make a qualified first step in this direction."

The experiment will allow an experienced international umpire, not taking part in the match, to request video examination of crucial decisions.

The criteria up for assessment will be limited to decisions over the award or otherwise of goals where it is unclear if the ball was inside or outside the circle or had crossed the line.