Modernization of football is possible with a new technology. However, almost all rules can be interpreted, so it will remain controversial. FIFA approved this Friday the semi-automatic onside technology for 2022 Qatar World Cup. This a priori formula is more precise and quicker than the current video arbitrator system (VAR). It was already successfully tested in the 2021 Arab Cup as well as in the last Club World Cup that Chelsea won in the United Arab Emirates.
This system can determine the position of players and ball at any time. It allows for the precise detection of off-regulation situations, but does not replace the judgement of referees. Animations of plays will also be shown in three dimensions through the stadium’s video scoreboards. This is to allow the public to better understand refereeing decisions.
This technology will be used during the Qatar tournament. It will employ twelve cameras under the covers of fields. Each camera will collect up to 29 data points per player and monitor them 50 times per second. A sensor inside the ball can send “a data packet as high as 500 times per second” back to the video room. This allows the moment of the kick be determined with greater precision than what the human eye can.
The alerts will be sent to video referees when the ball is received from an attacker in an advanced position at that moment his teammate has given him a pass. It is a real time process. In a matter of seconds, the VOR room referee will manually verify the moment the ball was received by an attacker. Then, he will inform the main referee who will always make final decisions.
Lifelong football fans will take another step, but this will not eliminate the controversy surrounding the controversial ‘offside’ rule. Kylian Mbappe’s goal against Spain in October 2021 (2-1) was a clear example of the inability to fully automate offside. It was necessary to analyze Mbappe’s position and to determine if Eric Garcia, Catalan central defense, was able to deliberately put the ball back in play. Referees were furious at Luis Enrique’s team, and the fans of La Roja.
FIFA hopes that this tool will end the absurd situations in which a controversy can last several minutes and cause ridicule among fans and critics. Since the introduction of VAR, there have been many controversies. This has led to a loss of continuity and obvious damage to any team trying to dominate or attack.
Just think back to the Champions League final in Paris, where Real Madrid and Liverpool played. It took five minutes for the judges to cancel a KarimBenzema goal. That move was almost forgotten after Carlo Ancelotti’s victory. However, if the Reds had won, you could still say that there were at least two clearances by English players prior to the Real Madrid striker getting the leather.
The people responsible for the implementation plan of the method want to reassure the arbitration group. They are concerned about the possibility that technology could cause many braids to become unemployed, just as it has in many other professions. FIFA made it clear that this method is valuable for tight actions, but not as some sectors have referred to it, the ‘robot offside.’ The head of FIFA refereeing Pierluigi Collina is at the head. World football leaders insist on the fact that referees as well as assistants will continue to make decisions on the pitch.