If the big innovation at the 2018 World Cup in Russia was the introduction of the VAR system for full use of games, then at the World Cup to be held in less than half a year in Qatar, the following technological innovation will probably come into play: the semi-automatic differential technology.
One of the biggest problems in the last four years, since the VAR went into full use worldwide, is the long time it sometimes took to reach a final decision.
There were cases where the game was stopped for 4 minutes until the refereeing team made a decision based on watching the replays.
Well, the new system, which has already passed all the trials successfully, should lead to a final decision in cases of dissent in just 3 to 4 seconds, it has been tested in recent years in quite a few friendly and youth games and passed with great success the "live" test in the February World Cup.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said yesterday during the annual meeting of the International Federation's Constitution Committee: “It looks very good and promising.
"Our experts are testing the results of the trials before making a final decision on whether to use the system at the World Cup in Qatar."
FIFA believes in the system, Photo: AFP
Pierloiji Kolina, the famous former referee who serves as head of the FIFA refereeing system, added: “My personal opinion is that I am convinced that we can move forward with this system.
The goal is to make faster and more accurate decisions, and in the experiments we conducted - this is exactly what happened.
Basically, this is a technology that is very reminiscent of the goal line - which has been accepted positively all over the world.
"No one has any complaints, we are sure that is also what will happen here."
Beyond the technological interest there is another, constitutional interest, which is no less important.
According to the new indices to be determined, gates will no longer be disqualified due to differences of millimeters.
Kolina added: "For him tiny different situations should not be considered a different offense."
In the coming months, the system will continue to be tested in youth games in the Netherlands, Sweden and Italy, and a final decision regarding the World Cup will be made in about two months.
The new system will not only provide fast decisions, it will also produce better quality graphics for the benefit of TV broadcasts and screens in stadiums, which will be screened within 25 seconds of the event.
The system, which is based on artificial intelligence, receives video footage from 12 dedicated cameras located under the stadium roof, and analyzes each delivery on the way to the gate.
Big line for the judges, Photo: getty
The system collects up to 29 different pieces of information at a rate of 50 times per second for each player involved in the course being tested, processes the data and reaches a final conclusion in almost real time, and everything is automatically passed to the VAR refereeing team.
As for the speed of decision making, it is clear.
But the system will also add accuracy.
For so far the decisions have been based on television footage when a technician would determine in which frame the player's touch was on the ball.
In the new system the determination will not be according to the human eye, and is therefore much more accurate.
So yes, the system is set to "semi-automatic" since the VAR judges have a significant role left, as they will still have to determine whether the player who is in a different position is active during or has no influence over him.
The VAR that changed the face of the industry, Photo: Reuters
The Premier League plans to put the new system into use starting in the 2023-24 season.
And there are other leagues that are looking into the matter.
Of course, this is a very expensive system so we will see it in the coming years only in the major leagues and major tournaments.
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