Arto I. Järvelä, Liiga’s competitions director explains:
“This was an experiment designed to facilitate communication between referees. To begin with, only the two main referees were equipped with the Vokkero® Squadra system, but now the line judges have it as well.”
And continues: “Thanks to Vokkero® Squadra, referees can communicate with each other but can also keep in contact with the match supervisor and me as well, watching from the stands. However, only the judges take decisions on the ice. The major advantage of the Vokkero® Squadra system is the speed and ease of communication it offers between judges. With this system, they can interact and consult each other even if they are 60 metres apart”, Arto I. Järvelä clarifies.
And he concludes: “All our referees and line judges who took part in the experiment were satisfied with the equipment. Our aim would be for the refereeing team of each league match to have this equipment next season. […] I think that within five years, these devices will be used by all the major European leagues.”
As a matter of interest: the Vokkero® Squadra system is already in use at the highest levels of international sport, and in particular is used by the ice hockey refereeing teams officiating within the KHL (Kontinental Hockey League), the Russian Ice Hockey championship – Elite category) and the DIU (Danmarks Ishockey Union).
