“It’s just silly, honestly. I think football is best when it’s a bit more ‘pure", says Ryerson NRK in relation to the use of "refcams" which was introduced during this summer’s World Cup.
Before the tournament, FIFA decided to introduce body-worn cameras—so-called “refcams”—for the head referees in all 104 matches of the 2026 World Cup.
Technically speaking, the setup consists of a small HD camera attached to the referee’s headset, capturing both audio and video.
The footage was made available to the World Cup’s official broadcasters, giving viewers the chance to experience match situations from the referees’ perspective.
During the match against England, Ryerson was broadcast to the entire world when he had a discussion with referee Clément Turpin regarding an offside decision.
Now, Ryerson has had enough of the technology.
“I think it’s a bit much now—especially when they have ‘ref cams’ and people start acting a bit differently because they know there’s a camera on them. You can’t talk to them normally; they try to be overly nice. It’s actually a bit comical,” says the Norwegian star.
Ryerson would like to see a return to football without “refcams.”
“They could get rid of them. We’re there to play football, after all—not for everything else surrounding it. I think it’s becoming a bit too much of a show,” he says.
Ryerson and Norway will be in action Saturday night when they take on Wales at the Ullevaal stadium in Oslo.