A few days ago, the Football World Cup 2022 in Qatar started, which was a worldwide event. A lot has changed since the last world cup, especially in terms of technology and its usage in games and decision-making. The newest inventions that were introduced in this year’s tournament are Semi-Automated Offside Technology and charged balls called “Al Rihla.” However, there are also some technologies that were presented a few years before the 2022 world cup, such as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), that were improved to work even better for the world cup in Qatar.
Semi-Automated Offside Technology
The first innovation that is going to be discussed is new offside technology, which frees referees from making unclear, often arguable decisions. To make those decisions faster, more accurate, and generally better.
According to FIFA the technology uses 12 dedicated tracking cameras mounted underneath the roof of the stadium to track the ball and up to 29 data points of each individual player, 50 times per second, calculating their exact position on the pitch. The 29 collected data points include all limbs and extremities that are relevant for making offside calls. (FIFA, 2022)
In order to make that technology precise, ball monitoring is needed, which will be described in the next paragraph.
Sensor in Al Rihla Official match ball
Al Rihla is the official match ball used for Qatar World Cup 2022. The special thing about the ball is that it has a sensor inside. Some of the fans in the stadium had spotted that the balls were charging before a match, and the picture went viral on various platforms. The technology helps referees and VAR staff to monitor the exact position of the ball in real time. According to Tomorrow’s World Today, “Inside the ball is the Adidas Suspension System, which includes a 500Hz inertial measurement unit motion sensor that sends out data 500 times per second. The sensor provides unprecedented insight into every element of the movement of the ball and is powered by a rechargeable battery. The technology is unnoticeable for players and does not affect the balls’ performance.” (Tommorowsworldtoday, 2022)
Furthermore, Dr. Schmidt from Kinexon, mentioned that “As FIFA Preferred Provider for Live Player and Ball Tracking our goal with adidas is to use state-of-the-art technology to improve the experience for everyone involved without changing the game of football. We are confident that with accurate live ball data the connected ball technology will enable a new age of football analytics and fan experience.” (Adidas, 2022)
Video assistant referee (VAR)
The innovation was introduced in 2018 for the previous FIFA World Cup, however it was improved to work even better for the current tournament. It helps the main referee to make an unclear decision using replays on the monitor carefully selected by the VAR team or by advising him through headphones worn on the pitch.
“The VAR team supports the decision-making process of the referee in four match-changing situations: Goals and offences, leading up to a goal, Penalty decisions and offences leading up to a penalty decision, Direct red card incidents only (not second yellow card/caution), Mistaken identity.” (FIFA, 2022)
“Throughout a match, the video assistant referee team constantly checks for clear and obvious errors related to these four match-changing situations. The VAR team communicates with the referee only for clear and obvious mistakes or serious missed incidents.” (FIFA, 2022)
However, as other new technologies can lead to some controversy and those used in the current World Cup could also be controversial in some situations. For example, during a match in Group H, when Portugal faced Uruguay, a strange situation occurred. Cristiano Ronaldo, the world’s most famous footballer, “scored” a header goal after a pass from his teammate Bruno Fernandez and began celebrating, as he usually does after scoring.Nonetheless, technology such as VAR and the sensor in a ball proved after some time that there was no touch of the ball from Ronaldo’s side by detailed monitoring of the ball’s movement in time.After that match, some articles were published with controversial headings, one of them even said that “Technology stole a goal from Ronaldo”. (Sport.pl, Gazeta.pl, 2022)
Let me know, what are your opinions about the modern technology in football. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
Thank you for reading.
References
https://www.marca.com/en/world-cup/2022/11/30/63878ca046163fa3b08b45fb.html
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/1/world-cup-in-qatar-to-utilise-semi-automated-offside-system
During the last World Cup, it was seen many times how technology helps referees make decision. The only thing that puzzles me, is whether in the near future referees will be completely replaced by AI.
I have really liked this new innovations during watching the last World Cup. Especially the 3D replays generated by Semi-Automated Offside Technology were impressive. I feel like this has a huge potential and should be added the to most important matches.