Zurich, July 1 (BNA) The International Football Association Board (FIFA) said on Friday that semi-automated offside technology will be used in this year’s World Cup, promising more accurate and much faster decisions.
In what could be considered an extraordinary development in game management, the technology will be able to resolve controversial hack calls with speed and accuracy unimaginable less than a decade ago, Reuters reports.
By using cameras strategically placed around stadiums, and a chip in the match ball, FIFA said the technology will go a long way to reducing ongoing Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decisions about fringe offside calls and reducing the time required for verification.
“We have worked towards a more consistent use of VAR, particularly with regard to the line of intervention,” Pierluigi Collina, Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, said at a press briefing.
“We are aware that sometimes the length of checks or reviews is too long, in particular, in terms of intrusion.”
The solution, revealed by FIFA, is the so-called SAOT, which will bring a futuristic space-age feel to the game, with spectators being able to see some 3D animation when VAR decisions are explained on the giant stadium screen.
The technology has already been tested in two tournaments over the past seven months and was expected to be approved for the World Cup in Qatar from November 21 to December. 18. It will be used in all tournament venues.
It uses 12 dedicated tracking cameras installed under the pitch to track the ball and up to 29 data points for each individual player, 50 times per second, to calculate their exact location on the pitch. The 29 data points collected include all parties and parties involved in making stealth calls.
sensor data
A sensor inside the ball sends data 500 times per second, allowing accurate detection of the kick point for offside decisions.
Colina added that all this information will ensure that VAR makes a better informed decision.
“The tests were a huge success and we are very confident that in Qatar we will have a very valuable support tool to help referees and assistant referees make the best and healthiest decision on the field of play,” he said.
“Someone called it ‘auto offside’; it’s not. Referees and assistant referees are still responsible for the decision on the field of play.”
By combining limb and ball tracking data, and the application of artificial intelligence, the new technology provides an automated offside alert to video match officials within the video operations room when an attacker receives the ball in an offside position.
Before informing the referee on the field, the video match officials will validate the proposed decision by manually checking the automatically selected kick point and the automatically generated offside line, which is based on the calculated positions of the players’ extremities.
“This process happens within a few seconds and means offside decisions can be made faster and more accurately,” said FIFA, which has used universities in Boston, Melbourne and Zurich to help build the technology.
“Further tests will be conducted in the coming months to fine-tune the system before a global standard is implemented to ensure that the new technology can be used in the world of football,” the statement said.
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