The world of football already throbs the world Cup to be held from November Taste, and FIFA has announced more technological innovations. The ecumenical event will mark the large-scale debut of a new semi-automated system that will allow more easily detect an offside. It will be powered by a sensor on the ball and a multi-camera setup, as well as the help of artificial intelligence.
As happens every time a technology component is added to football, the measure encounters some resistance. However, what is proposed on this occasion is a complementary tool to the VAR and to the work of the assistant judges, who, after all, are the ones who must raise the flag to mark an offside situation. Thus, it is intended to have a rapid detection system that helps in the finest plays, when invalidating them due to an improper position depends on a millimeter measurement.
According to FIFA explained, the new system to detect offside depends on three technical elements. The first is a sensor called Inertial Measurement Unit, found inside Al Rihla, the official game ball manufactured by Adidas. This device sends data 500 times per second to the VAR room and details exactly when a player touches the ball.
The second is a 12-camera system that is installed under the roof of each World Cup host stadium in Qatar. They have been developed to track the ball and the players, detecting 29 specific points on the body that are taken into account when sanctioning an offside. All this information is sent 50 times per second and is used to calculate the exact positions of those who are playing the match.
The data from the cameras and the ball are processed with AI, which sends an alert to the VAR when it detects an advanced position. In any case, the sanction in the match is not automatic, since it is the video assistance judges themselves who analyze the situation and inform those who are on the field of play. The final decision will remain in the hands of the main judge and his assistants.
FIFA wants to end the controversy over offside
Discussions about plays invalidated by offside are as old as football itself. Many say they are part of the very essence of the world’s most popular sport, and that situations that are defined by millimeters — imperceptible to the human eye, no matter how good the assistant judge is — should not be sanctioned. However, FIFA sees technology as a crucial part of making matches fairer.
Regardless of whether the off side is defined by millimeters, what the fans do not want is that the technology interferes with the dynamics of the game. The biggest problem that VAR has had is that, in most cases, his intervention delays the development of the matches. Especially when the main judge must approach the monitor to make a final decision because the resolution of a play – be it an offside, possible penalty kick, etc. – is too fine for the video assistance to have the last word. This is what the new semi-automated system that will debut at the 2022 Qatar World Cup promises to address.
“We hope that the semi-automated technology for offside detection will help us continue to improve. We are aware that sometimes it takes too long to check a possible offside position, especially when it is doubtful. This is where the technology in question is a great help, as it helps to make decisions more quickly and accurately”.
Pierluigi Collina, former referee and current president of the FIFA Referees Committee
An interesting point to note is that the new technology to detect offside will not only notify the VAR. Also will generate 3D animations that will represent the play and will be broadcast on the screens of the stadiums, as well as on television broadcasts. This will be similar to the system to measure if the ball completely crossed the goal line, to validate a goal.
Third consecutive World Cup with technological innovations
The 2022 Qatar World Cup will be the third major FIFA tournament in a row to incorporate a technical innovation related to the game. In the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the aforementioned technology was introduced to detect whether there was a goal or not. While Russia 2018 saw the massive debut of VAR.
We’ll see what results the new semi-automated system gives to detect offside. It has been tested by FIFA in 2021 during the World Cup for clubs and the Arab Cup; nevertheless, neither of these two tournaments has the magnitude of the World Cupwhich is where the real results will be seen.