World Cup in Qatar will have semi-automatic offside technology

FIFA announced this Friday (1) that the World Cup in Qatar, starting on November 21, will have a new technology to make the marking of offsides faster and more efficient.

Called “semi-automatic impediments”, the mechanism promises to reduce player position checking. According to the entity, currently the VAR (video referee) takes, on average, 70 seconds in the bid conference. The new technology should reduce the time to 20 or 25 seconds.

“It is important to say that the decision [sobre os impedimentos] still belongs to the referees. Referees will not be replaced by robots. Or else the one who would be here explaining this to you would be an engineer, not me,” said the head of FIFA’s refereeing department, Pierluigi Collina.

According to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the technology took three years to complete. “This technology is the culmination of three years of dedicated research and testing to provide the best for the teams, players and fans heading to Qatar later this year,” he said.

See how semi-automatic deterrent will work

• All balls that will be used in the World Cup will have a sensor installed in the center of the ball, which will allow checking at what moment there was contact with the player who passed the ball;

• The stadiums will have at least 12 cameras connected to the system that will track the position of each player on the field, in addition to locating 29 possible points of contact between the body and the ball;

• In the event of an irregular move in the match, the VAR (video referee) room will be notified by a light that will come on in the cabin and an assistant will be responsible for checking only this type of move;

• After the check, the VAR will communicate with the field referee;

• Instead of the traditional lines drawn on the field, the new technology will generate 3D animation, which promises to be easier for the referees to interpret;

• The animation will also be shown in real time on the stadium screens and on TV broadcasts, but should only appear after the game is interrupted;

• The new technology will only be used when the offside player touches the ball. Other bids, such as because of interference in the goalkeeper’s field, for example, will be defined by the referee;