Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) will make its debut at European Supercup that Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt will play next Wednesday in Helsinki. The UEFA announced this Wednesday the application of the new detection technology for the first title of the season, and also for the next edition of the Champions League, whose group stage begins the first week of September. “The system is ready for use in official matches and for implementation in every area of the Champions League,” confirmed UEFA head of refereeing Roberto Rosetti.
UEFA explains that it has carried out a total of 188 tests since 2020, including all matches in the Champions League, both men’s and women’s, and most recently, in the Women’s European Championship held this summer in England. The system works with 12 tracking cameras that track the ball and 29 points on each player’s body, 50 times per second. The 29 data points collected include all relevant limbs and extremities for making offside calls, allowing you to calculate your exact position on the pitch at all times. Additionally, with this information, 3D images can be designed that reflect the player’s situation at the exact moment of offside. “This innovative system will allow VAR teams to determine offside situations quickly and more accurately, improving the fluidity of the game and the consistency of decisions,” explains Rosetti.
This urgency to reduce the delay of refereeing decisions since the introduction of VAR four years ago is a concern shared by UEFA and the Fifa. Just a month ago world football’s governing body has given the green light for the application of this technology at the next world cup which is held in November in Qatar. Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s director of refereeing, pointed out in February that since the introduction of VAR, there had been a loss of continuity in the game, and that this new tool would make it possible to avoid decisions arbitration does not lengthen. “Technology only gives them great support to make more accurate and faster decisions, especially when the offside incident is very tight and very difficult,” said the former referee.
In addition to simplifying refereeing decisions, the SAOT system also serves to avoid controversy and to argue its decisions in front of the spectators. With the data collected by the special cameras, 3D animations can be created which are shown on stadium screens and television to accurately reflect the game.” Using the exact same data to create 3D animation for spectators in the stadium and on-air viewers, they will receive a fast and accurate visualization of the offside situation,” explained FIFA’s Head of Football Technology, Sebastian Runge.
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