ROME. The semi-automatic offside detection for the 2022 World Cup has begun faster and more accurately. After the successful use of VAR technology at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, President Gianni Infantino said that it will exploit all the technological potential applicable to football and further improve the VAR. The new technology uses 12 tracking cameras mounted under the stadium roof to track the ball and ‘capture’ up to 29 movements 50 times per second to pinpoint the exact position of each player on the pitch.
Furthermore, the official Adidas ball used for the World Cup will contain a sensor inside it which is useful for detecting offside. The instrument positioned in the center of the ball will send the data 500 times per second which, combined with those of the tracking of the players, thanks to the new technology, an automatic offside signal will be sent to the referees. This process takes place in seconds and in this way, decisions regarding the offside can be made quickly and with greater precision.
Once the video referees’ decision is confirmed, a 3D animation is generated to the court referees, which perfectly details the position of the players when the ball was played. «On the occasion of the 2018 FIFA World Cup – declared the president Gianni Infantino – FIFA took the courageous step to use VAR technology which proved to be an indisputable success. The semi-automatic offside technology is an evolution of the VAR systems that have been implemented around the world. This technology is the culmination of three years of dedicated research and testing to provide the best for the teams, players and fans traveling to Qatar later this year. And FIFA is proud of this work, it is committed to exploiting technology to improve the game of football at all levels and the use of semi-automatic offside technology at the 2022 FIFA World Cup ».
According to Pierluigi Collina, president of the FIFA Referees Committee, «the VAR has already had a very positive impact on football and we can see that the number of important errors has already been drastically reduced. We expect the semi-automatic offside technology to make us take a further step forward ».