The VAR system was first introduced at the 2018 World Cup when France won their second title in Russia. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has deemed its launch a success and is working with a range of partners to further enhance the technology as part of its Vision 2020-23. As part of the improvements FIFA introduced to VAR ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, this included the use of a semi-automatic offside system. FIFA announced in July that the technology will make its debut at this year's tournament in November and December.
What is VAR?
VAR will continue to be used at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after being introduced in Russia four years ago. Infantino declared the technology the end of offside goals in 2018. VAR officials used it to review more than 440 incidents from the 62 games leading up to the Moscow final. The word is progress, and it's better than it was Infantino was quoted in 2018 by Business Standard. VAR doesn't change football, VAR cleans it, makes it more honest, more transparent, and helps referees make the right decisions. France was the first country to benefit from the use of VAR at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Referee Andres Cunha awarded Les Bleus a penalty in the 58th minute in their first Group C match against Australia. France also won a penalty against Croatia via VAR in the final.
Infantino also said that in the 2018 World Cup, referees' VAR accuracy increased from 95% to 99.2%. Any major European league that hadn't already used the technology before Russia's success will roll it out. Some leagues started using VAR before 2018.
The Bundesliga and Serie A have already introduced VAR technology for the 2017/18 season. La Liga followed suit after the World Cup in Russia, and the Spanish top flight began using VAR in the 2018/19 season. The Premier League did not use VAR until the 2019/20 season.
How will the semi-automatic offside technology work?
FIFA's use of VAR at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will differ from that used by the Premier League, with the addition of a semi-automatic offside system. The new element uses 12 dedicated cameras that will track the ball and all players to calculate their exact position on the pitch. Each camera installed under the stadium roof will receive data points 50 times per second. They focused on 29 data points, including every limb of every player and the limbs needed for offsides. The game ball will also provide a key element.
adidas created Al Rihla as the Official Match Ball for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The ball will help officials make strict offside decisions because it has an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor at its core. The IMU provides data to the VAR control room 500 times per second. By combining artificial intelligence with limb and ball tracking technology, the system will automatically alert VAR officials of offsides. The notification will be sent the moment the player receives possession of the ball, the player was in an offside position when the ball was initially kicked. VAR will then review the offside call using the automatically selected kick point before informing the on-field referee. If confirmed, the decision will be generated from the clearest angle as a 3D animation showing the position of any player at the time of the ball
Can fans see the results of the semi-automatic offside technique?
VAR officials will broadcast an offside animation in the stadium and make it available to each broadcast partner. FIFA expects the semi-automatic offside process to last a few seconds to provide faster and more accurate decisions. It has tested the process in action. FIFA has already tested semi-automatic offside technology in the 2021 Arabian Cup and 2021 Club World Cup. The MIT Sports Lab, Victoria University's TRACK, and ETH Zurich analyzed and validated the data collected by FIFA in its online and offline technology trials.
Infantino believes the use of the semi-automatic offside system at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is an evolution of VAR. The FIFA president further believes that this is the clearest example of what the governing body is doing to advance the use of technology in football.
He told FIFA's website in July,
At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, FIFA took the brave step of using VAR technology on the biggest stage in the world and it proved to be an undisputed decision. The success of the semi-automatic offside technique is an evolution of the VAR system that has been implemented around the world.
This technology is the culmination of three years of dedicated research and testing to provide the best possible service for teams, players, and fans traveling to Qatar later this year, and FIFA is proud of this work as we look forward to the world's See the benefits of semi-automatic offside technology at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
FIFA is committed to using technology to improve football at all levels, and the use of semi-automatic offside technology at the 2022 FIFA World Cup is the clearest evidence of this.