Do not under any circumstances call them robot referees. In Abu Dhabi last week FIFA took the next step in trialling limb-tracking technology that, all going to plan, will lead to marginal offside decisions being made within three seconds at this year's World Cup.
While Chelsea's Club World Cup final win over Palmeiras required two VAR checks leading to penalties being awarded by Australian referee Chris Beath, there were no marginal offside calls requiring a check.
The semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) system was, however, used successfully in games earlier in the competition and, to provide the most recent example, it would have significantly sped up decisions like Ollie Watkins' ruled out goal away to Newcastle United on Sunday or Michail Antonio's against Brighton in December
For Pierluigi Collina, chairman of FIFA’s referee committee, it is a technological tool to be used by the match officials rather than technology taking power from those with a whistle or flag in their hand - and the ambition is for it to be viewed along the lines of goal-line technology.
“I know that for headlines ‘robot offside’ or something similar is very easy," Collina said. "But this is not the case. You have seen that the technology is simply a tool used by a human being. The message is sent to the VAR, they use the information coming from this technology and then they make the final decision.
“There is not any outcome bypassing the match officials on the field of play, off the field of play. They are involved in the decision-making process and they are responsible for the final decision taken. It is still a tool. It is a tool available to increase accuracy and improve the time, something quicker.”
The technology works via around a dozen cameras positioned under the roof of stadiums that will run at 50 frames per second. It will take between three and four seconds to determine whether a player is offside and that will then be sent to the VAR, who can relay the information to the on-field referee.
It is envisaged that animations, with lines similar to what is being currently used, will then be shown on TV and screens inside stadiums. It could take more than 20 seconds from the incident happening to that point but FIFA envisages the process becoming quicker with time and it is still significantly better than a wait of a couple of minutes.
“The last part, the animation, refers more to reliability,” Collina added. “People understand from the image what happens and trust much more in what happened, the decision. If you do not understand because you do not see clearly what happened, then you start doubting the decision itself.”
A final decision on whether SAOT will be used in Qatar is likely in the next eight weeks and if successful it would eventually end up being implemented in the Premier League and European competitions. Just do not call them robot referees.
