On the football field, offside calls are often the key to victory or defeat, but they often cause heated debates. Now, with the assistance of VAR (Video Assistant Referee), offside decisions have become more accurate and convincing.
How does VAR use the eye of technology to prevent offside? This article will provide an in-depth analysis of how VAR works, the decision-making process, and its impact on football matches.
What is VAR?
The full name of VAR is "Video Assistant Referee". It was born to reduce the occurrence of controversial penalties in football matches, especially those moments that are difficult to see clearly with the naked eye.
The origins of VAR can be traced back to 2016, when the International Football Association (FIFA) began testing the VAR system in some competitions. After several years of experimentation and improvement, VAR officially debuted at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and has since been gradually adopted by major leagues and international events.
The main function of VAR is to assist the referee in making correct decisions. When a controversial penalty occurs during the game, or the referee needs more information to make a decision, the VAR team will play back the game footage through the courtside screen and communicate with the referee. Assistance that VAR can provide includes:
- Confirm whether the goal is valid: Check whether there are fouls, offsides, etc. during the scoring process.
- Determine whether a penalty kick should be awarded: Analyze whether there is a foul in the penalty area.
- To determine whether a red card should be shown: Determine the severity of the foul.
- Correct wrong calls: If the referee makes a clear misjudgement, VAR can remind and provide correct information.
In addition to football, VAR has also begun to be applied in other sports, such as tennis, basketball, rugby, etc. The emergence of VAR not only improves the fairness of the game, but also allows the audience to enjoy the game more.
How does VAR help determine offside?
VAR (Video Assistant Referee) plays a key role in determining offside. It mainly assists the referee to make more accurate decisions through the following methods:
- Multi-angle, slow-motion replay: The VAR team can use the courtside screens to watch multi-angle, slow-motion replays of the game in real time. These images can more clearly show the moments when players pass and receive the ball, as well as the relative position between the players and the goal line, making offside decisions more accurate.
3D imaging technology: Some VAR systems have also introduced 3D imaging technology, which can project the positions of players and the ball onto the virtual court to more intuitively present offside situations and help referees make more accurate judgments.
- Professional team analysis: The VAR team usually consists of multiple experienced referees. They will carefully analyze the images to confirm key factors such as the passing moment, player position, and whether the receiving player is involved in the offense to ensure the accuracy of the penalty.
- Communicate with the referee: When the VAR team detects a possible offside situation, it will communicate with the referee through the headset. If the VAR team believes that there is a clear offside, they will advise the referee to review the game footage and make the final decision.
- Semi-automatic offside decision system (SAOT): At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, FIFA has introduced a semi-automatic offside decision system. The system uses cameras in the stadium and sensors in the football to determine offside more quickly and accurately, and generates 3D animated images to show viewers the offside situation.
How does the VAR team analyze images to determine whether offside is established?
The VAR team usually consists of multiple experienced referees who carefully analyze the images to confirm the following:
- Passing moment: Determine the moment when the passing player touches the ball, which is an important benchmark for judging offside.
- Player position: Check whether the receiving player is in an offside position at the moment of passing the ball, that is, closer to the opponent's goal line than the ball, and the opponent has only the goalkeeper behind him.
- Whether to participate in the offense: Determine whether the receiving player has an impact on the game, such as catching the ball, interfering with defensive players, etc. It is composed of experienced referees who will carefully analyze the images to confirm the following points:
4 impacts of VAR on football matches
Improve judgment accuracy and reduce disputes
Through multi-angle replay and slow-motion analysis, VAR allows referees to more clearly judge key penalties, reduce misjudgments and disputes, and improve the fairness of the game.
Promote fairness of competition and protect players’ rights and interests
VAR can correct misjudgments, ensure that the results of the game are more in line with the actual situation, allow players to get their due rewards for their efforts, and maintain fair competition in the game.
Change the rhythm of the game and the use of tactics
Due to the existence of VAR, players and coaches need to be more careful during the game to avoid being caught by VAR for fouls or offsides. This also makes the rhythm of the game more compact and the use of tactics more diverse.
Spark discussion and improvement on the use of VAR
The emergence of VAR has also sparked discussions about how it should be used. For example, issues such as the timing of VAR intervention and penalty standards have aroused heated discussions among fans and experts. These discussions contribute to the refinement and improvement of the VAR system so that it can better serve the game of football.
The future of VAR
Popularization of Semi-automated offside technology (SAOT)
The successful application of SAOT at the 2022 Qatar World Cup has proven its great potential in improving the efficiency and accuracy of offside decisions.
In the future, SAOT is expected to be popularized in major leagues and international events, further reducing disputes and penalties and improving the smoothness of the game.
The combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and VAR
AI technology can analyze a large amount of game data, provide more accurate penalty suggestions, and help the VAR team make decisions faster and more accurately.
AI can also identify players' body movements and expressions to determine whether there are flops, flagrant fouls and other behaviors to improve the fairness of the game.
Application of VAR in other sports events
VAR has been applied in tennis, basketball, rugby and other sports, and is expected to be expanded to more sports in the future.
Different sports may have different requirements and application methods for VAR, which need to be developed and adjusted accordingly.
The combination of virtual reality (VR) and VAR
VR technology allows the VAR team to experience the game immersively and judge penalties more intuitively.
VR can also allow viewers to experience the perspective of the VAR referee at home, making the game more interactive and interesting.
Unification and transparency of VAR penalty standards
As VAR becomes more popular, penalty standards need to be more consistent and transparent across leagues and competitions to avoid disputes and unfairness.
The VAR team's penalty decision-making process also needs to be more open and transparent, so that fans and teams can understand and accept the penalty results.
Conclusion
The emergence of VAR is undoubtedly a major advancement in football technology. It not only improves the fairness of the game, but also allows fans to enjoy the game more. As technology develops, we can expect VAR to become smarter, more accurate, and used in more sports in the future.