Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HIGH ROBOT
Collina reveals Qatar will use new offside AI technology – which has a sensor in the ball – and will track 29 points on each player making decisions possible within 25 seconds
PIERLUIGI COLLINA has welcomed new VAR technology as an “important” moment for football.
FIFA have confirmed they will have hi-tech semiautomatic offside decisions in place for the World Cup in Qatar this winter.
The new-look technology will speed up decisions, use Artificial Intelligence software to track the players and a special sensor in the adidas World Cup ball.
Former World Cup referee Collina (right), Chairman of FIFA’S referees committee, said: “We will be faster, we will be more accurate and these are the objectives of the semi-automatic technology.”
FIFA have successfully trialled the technology and are now ready to take VAR to the next level with the idea of speeding up decisions from an average of 70 seconds to 25 seconds in matches.
The semi-automatic offsides will see:
A SENSOR placed in the adidas World Cup ball (below), which will provide data at 500 frames per second – 10 times faster than current technology.
TWELVE tracking cameras around the stadiums.
AI software will have 29 tracking points on every player to accurately show points of contact.
VAR rooms at stadiums will have the technology at hand and can double check each decision, with the technology working within seconds.
ANIMATED images will be shown on big screens in stadiums to display each decision.
The semi-automatic offsides were trialled at the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi last February when Chelsea were crowned champions.
And speeding up decisions is key because the Premier League has been plagued by delays and controversial “toenail” offsides.
Collina believes the new system should bring a more exact science to offsides and stop the frustrating delays.
He said: “If we look at other sports... I don’t want to give other sports as examples because we are brave enough to be leaders but, if we look at other experiences, the time needed to make a decision is lived by everybody: players,
coaches, spectators, in a very normal way. “I like basketball and if I think of an NBA match, when the technology is used, you see players drinking, coaches giving instructions and spectators enjoying the moment and nobody cares about the time going on. “We are aware football is different and
that making the decision faster was important and that’s why we have gone in this direction.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “This technology is the culmination of three years of dedicated research and testing to provide the very best for the teams, players and fans who will be heading to Qatar. FIFA is proud of this work, as we look forward to the world seeing the benefits of semi-automated offside technology at the FIFA World Cup 2022.
“FIFA is committed to harnessing technology to improve the game at all levels, and the use of semi-automated offside technology at the World Cup is the clearest possible evidence.”