FIFA and UEFA have spent the past three years testing out a new Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT), and now it’s ready to be rolled out in the Champions League.
Although SAOT was used by FIFA at the Club World Cup in February, and also by UEFA in the Super Cup between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankurt in Helsinki last month, most fans wouldn’t even have noticed it was there. You could say that’s the perfect outcome, but until we regularly see the new technology is changing offside decisions we’re in the dark as to its effectiveness.
The two systems aren’t quite identical, though the overall ethos of using Artificial Intelligence to produce the offside result is the same.
“For the good of the game and the good of refereeing, UEFA always wants to use the best technology available,” said Roberto Rosetti, UEFA’s chief refereeing officer. “UEFA is always looking for new technological solutions to improve the game and support the work of the referees. And this is what we want from semi-automated offside in the future.”
So the curtain has now been pulled back and we know a lot more about a flagship development for the VAR project. So how will it work, what are the good points and where will fans still be left feeling frustrated?
Long delays, perceived inaccuracies and a lack of confidence in the system among fans, players and coaches. And that’s just for starters.
Scepticism also comes from the poor visualisation of decisions, with lines placed on the pitch which cannot replace a person’s own perspective of an offside decision on a camera angle. A player may look onside, but the technology says they are offside.
So, what problems did FIFA and UEFA hope to solve?
Firstly, selecting the exact point the ball is touched by the passer cannot be determined accurately because of the frame rate of TV cameras, 50 frames per second, used across all major leagues.
Secondly, the VAR manually selects the furthest forward point on both defender and attacker, which cannot be applied consistently.
AI removes all subjectivity from these two parts of the process, meaning there is no human role.
Added to this, the time taken to judge offside, in some cases up to five minutes for complex decisions, adds further frustration.
All in all, supporters don’t really trust the process as it works now.
“Why is this important for VAR? Offside decisions have a significant impact on the average VAR review time,” Rosetti said. “To identify the correct line position working on a two-dimensional image is very complex. With semi-automated offside we will save time.”
So what is Semi-Automated Offside Technology?
SAOT automates the process outlined above and produces a result within seconds. The semi-automated part comes in because the VAR still has to validate the offside decision — the technology cannot tell if an attacker is actively involved in play or confirm the ball was touched by a teammate of that player.
“The system was tested in more than 180 matches in last season’s major UEFA competitions,” Rosetti explained. “The system is ready to be used live and officially from the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. We are very proud to be the first ones to introduce this new technology in a major competition. This innovative system will allow VAR teams to determine offside situations quickly and more accurately, enhancing the flow of the game and the consistency of the decisions.
