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The International Football Association Board Münstergasse 9 8001 Zurich Switzerland T: +41 (0)44 245 1886 F: +41 (0)44 245 1887 theifab.com
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132nd Annual Business Meeting
22 January, 2018
–Media Package–
Information on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) experiment, incl. provisional results
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Summary of the research results independently collected by KU Leuven since the beginning of the VAR experiment in March 2016. Results relate to the 'live' use of
VARs in competitive professional football matches.
Facts&Figures Explanation
20+nationalassociationsandcompetitionsAustralia,Belgium,Brazil,China,CONMEBOL,CzechRepublic,England,FIFA,France,Germany,Italy,TheNetherlands,Poland,Portugal,Qatar,SaudiArabia,KoreaRepublic,TurkeyandtheUSA.
804competitivematches
Afurther700friendly/training/exhibitionmatcheshaveusedVARsbuttheresultsarenotincludedintheanalysisastheyarenotcomparablewith'live'VARuseincompetitiveprofessionalmatches.
56.9%ofcheckswereforpenaltyincidentsandgoalsMajorityofmatch-changingsituationsrelatetopenalty/nopenaltyincidentsandgoals;redcardsincidents-42.3%;mistakenidentitynegligible
Averageoffewerthan5checkspermatchInthe804matchestherewere3,947checksforpossiblereviewableincidents-vastmajoritywere'background'checkswhichdidnotinterferewiththegame.
MedianchecktimeoftheVARis20secondsMostcheckstakeplacequicklywhilstplaycontinuesorduringthe'normaltime'ofastoppagee.g.duringthegoalcelebration,sohavenoimpactontheflowofthegame.
Initialaccuracyforreviewablecategoriesofdecisionis93.0% WithoutVARsthequalityofdecision-makinginthematch-changingreviewablecategoriesisalreadyextremelyhigh.
68.8%ofmatcheshadnoreviewTheflowofmanygameshasnotbeeninterruptedbyareviewas533matchesdidnothaveareview.Only42matches(5.2%)hadmorethanonereview.
Averageof1clearandobviouserrorevery3matchesBeforeandduringtheexperiment,statisticsclearlyshowthatonly1decisionin3matchesisa'clearandobviouserror'inthereviewablecategoriesofdecision.
DecisionaccuracywithVARis98.9%Theaccuracyofdecisionsinthereviewablecategorieshasincreasedby5.9%to98.9%.(100%accuracyimpossibleduetohumanperceptionandsubjectivityindecision-making).
DecisiveimpactoftheVARin8%ofallmatches
In8%ofallmatchestheVARhadadecisiveimpactontheoutcomeofthegame..Theexperimentalsoshowedthat24%ofallmatcheswerepositivelyaffectedbytheinvolvementoftheVAR(changinganinitialincorrectdecisionbythereferee).
Themediandurationofareviewis60secondsFordecisionsbasedonhead-setcommunicationfromtheVAR,themediantime=39secondsWhenthereisanon-fieldreview,themediantime=70seconds
Theaveragetime'lost'duetotheVAR,representsunder1%ofoverallplayingtime
UseofVARshasaverysmallimpactontheoverallplayingtime'lost'comparedwithallothersituationswhereplayingtimeis'lost'(typically:freekicks(9.5%),throw-ins(8%),goalkicks(6%)cornerkicks(4.5%),substitutions(3.5%)etc)
A'clearandobviouserror'wasnotcorrectedin1in20matches(5%)
Thisfigure(5%)isveryencouragingconsideringtheshorttestingperiodandinevitablehumanerrorsinperception,decision-making,unfamiliaritywithtechnology,communicationetc.);itshouldimproveovertimewithmoreexperience,trainingetc.
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The International Football Association Board Münstergasse 9 8001 Zurich Switzerland T: +41 (0)44 245 1886 F: +41 (0)44 245 1887 theifab.com
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Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Questions & Answers
Experiment philosophy and background Information WhatisthephilosophyoftheVARexperiment? TheaimoftheVARexperimentistocorrect‘clearandobviouserrors’anddealwith‘seriousmissedincidents’indefinedmatch-changingsituations(goal,penalty/nopenalty,directredcardandmistakenidentityfordisciplinarysanctions).Theaimisnottoachieve100%accuracyforalldecisionsasthiswouldbeimpossibleandthereisnodesiretodestroytheessentialflowandemotionsoffootballwhichresultfromthegame’salmostnon-stopactionandthegeneralabsenceoflengthystoppages.Thephilosophyistherefore:“minimuminterference–maximumbenefit”.
WhydidTheIFABdecidetoconductanexperimentwithvideoassistance? Followingmanyrequestsfromtheglobalfootballcommunityandinlightoftechnologicaladvancesinthesportsbroadcastindustry,TheIFABagreedin2014toinvestigatehowvideoassistanceformatchofficialscouldpotentiallybeusedinfootball.Basedondiscussionswithitsvariousbodies,aswellasinitialdatacollection,TheIFAB,inclosepartnershipwithFIFA’sFootballTechnologyInnovationDepartment,draftedadetailedexperimentprotocolforlivevideoassistanceandpresenteditattheIFABAnnualGeneralMeeting(AGM)on5March2016.TheIFABAGMagreedinprinciplethatanexperimentwithvideoassistance,basedonthedraftprotocol,wouldbethebestwaytounderstandtheprosandconsofvideoassistance.Insimpleterms,itwasagreedthatthetimehadcometotestwhethervideoassistanceforrefereescouldworktothebenefitoffootball.
WhodidTheIFABconsultbeforetakingthisdecision? TheIFABconsultedmanystakeholders,aswellasFAsandcompetitionorganisers,particularlythosethathadalreadymadeeffortstoanalysethepotentialuseofvideoassistance,namelytheDutchFootballAssociation(KNVB)andtheUSA’sMajorLeagueSoccer(MLS).TheresultswerepresentedanddiscussedbyTheIFABanditsbodies,includingtheTechnicalAdvisoryPanel(TAP),FootballAdvisoryPanel(FAP),TechnicalSubcommittee(TSC)andtheBoardofDirectors(BoD).TheIFABalsohaddiscussionswithvariousothersportsalreadyusingvideoassistance,includingrugby,Americanfootball(NFL),andbasketball(NBA).Inaddition,technologyprovidersworkingwiththosesportswithstate-of-the-arttechnologywereconsulted.
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Whatistheoverallobjectiveoftheexperiment? Theoverallobjectiveistotrytoestablishwhetherusingvideoassistantreferees(VARs)couldimprovethegame,particularlyintermsoffairness.Aspartoftheassessment,TheIFABwantstounderstandtheimpactonthegameforallstakeholdersincludingreferees,players,coaches,officialsandfans/spectators.
Inwhichcompetitionsistheexperimentbeingconducted? Throughout2016anumberofinformationmeetingsandworkshopswereheldbyTheIFABandFIFAinvolvingoveradozeninterestedcompetitionorganisersfromFAsandleagues.FollowingapprovalfortheVARexperimentatthe2016AGM,competitionsinAustralia,Brazil,Germany,Portugal,theNetherlandsandtheUnitedStatesbecamethefirsttoagreetoparticipateintheexperimentusingtheprotocolandimplementationrequirementsdrawnupbyTheIFABandFIFA.
Anumberof‘trial’matcheswereheldintheUSAinsummer2016totestandrefinetheprotocolsandprocedures.ThesewerefollowingbyfurtherofflineandonlinepracticaltestingandinDecember2016theFIFAClubWorldCupinJapanservedasakeytrialbeforeTheIFABauthorised‘live’testsin2017.Bytheendof2017theinitialparticipantsintheexperimenthadbeenjoinedby:Belgium,CONMEBOL,China,CzechRepublic,England,FIFA,France,Italy,KoreaRepublic,Poland,SaudiArabia,SpainandTurkey.
Whatdoestheexperimentinvolve? Althoughtherewereanumberofdifferentpossibleapproaches,TheIFABhaskepttheexperimentassimpleaspossiblewithallcompetitionsusingthesameprotocol.Eachmatchhasavideoassistantreferee(VAR)whoworkswithanassistantVAR(AVAR)andreplayoperator(RO)inavideooperationroom(VOR).TheVARwatchestheliveactiononTVand‘checks’everyincident,usingreplayswherenecessary,whichrelatestoagoal,penalty/nopenalty,directredcardoriftherefereeissuesaredoryellowcardtothewrongplayeroftheoffendingteam.
IftheVARbelievesthattherefereehasmadea‘clearandobviouserror’ortherehasbeena‘seriousmissedincident’theVARinformstherefereewhowillthendecidewhetherornottheincidentshouldbereviewedusingreplayfootage.TherefereecanalsoinitiateareviewwithoutanyinitialVARinput.Iftherefereedecidestohaveareviewthereferee’sfinaldecisionmaybebasedsolelyoninformationfromtheVAR(‘VARonly’review)oritmayalsoinvolvestherefereegoingtothesideofthefieldtolookatthereplay(s)(‘on-fieldreview’).Therefereewillmakeafinaldecisionandtheoriginaldecisionwillonlychangeifitwasclearlywrong.
Inorganisationterms,theexperimenthasinvolvedcompetitions‘testing’theprotocol,principlesandproceduresinpractice/simulatedsituationsandinavarietyofdifferent
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typesofmatches;informationfromeachmatchintheexperimentisuploadedontoaplatformsothatdatacanbecollected,specificincidentsanalysedandfeedbackgiven.
Astheexperimenthasproceeded,somepracticalprocedureshavebeenmodifiedandrefinedbuttheoriginalfundamentalsoftheprotocolhaveremainedunchanged.
Whodrewuptheexperimentprotocol?
Theprotocol’sdevelopmentwasoverseenbytheTechnicalSubcommittee(TSC)ofTheIFABtogetherwithFIFA’sFootballTechnologyInnovationDepartment.ItwasinitiallybasedontheearlykeyfindingsoftheDutchFootballAssociation(KNVB)duringtheirofflineexperiments.InputcamefromTheIFAB’svariousbodies,includingtheFootballAdvisoryPanel(FAP),TechnicalAdvisoryPanel(TAP),TechnicalSubcommittee(TSC)andtheBoardofDirectors(BoD).Inaddition,feedbackfromotherleagues,associations,andfootballexperts,aswellasothersportswhichusevideoreplays,wastakenintoaccount.Oncetheexperimentstarted,someofprotocol’sproceduresandpracticalapplicationswererefinedbasedonfeedbackfromparticipantsandtechnicalanalysisofhowtheuseofVARswasworking.
WhatisthedifferencebetweenusingtheVAR‘offline’and‘live’?
Inan‘offline’matchthereisnocontactbetweentheVARandtherefereesothereisnoimpactonthegame.‘Offline’matchesareusedforVARs,AVARsandROstopractiseusingtheVARsetup,assessingwhetheranincidentisa‘clearandobviouserror’or‘seriousmissedincident’,andgainingexperienceofusingdifferentanglesandreplayspeeds.
Ina‘live’matchtheVARandrefereeareincontactandreplayscanbeusedforany‘clearandobviouserror’or‘seriousmissedincident’inthe4reviewablecategoriesofdecision.Whereappropriateandwithinprotocol,therefereecanchangetheoriginaldecisionusingreplayfootagedirectly(‘on-field’review)orindirectly(‘VARonly’review).
HowlongandhowexpensiveisitforacompetitiontoimplementVARs?
Costandimplementationdurationdependonalargenumberofcriteriasuchas:thesizeofthecompetition/numberofmatches;trainingofVARsandreferees;number,sizeandinfrastructureofthestadia;technological,communicationandbroadcastsystemsandsolutionsetc.Akeyfactoriswhetherthevideooperationroom(VOR)–wheretheVARislocated–istobesitedin/closetoeachstadiumorina‘matchcentre’whereallmatchesareviewedcentrally.Eachcompetitionhastoevaluatethehowlongimplementationwilltakeandhowmuchitwillcost.
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Experiment – Participants and timeline WhocanparticipateintheVARexperiment? NationalFAsandcompetitionsareonlypermittedtotakepartintheexperiment(oruseVARs)withthepermissionofTheIFAB.PermissionisonlygrantedwhereTheIFABprotocolswillbeusedinfullandTheIFAB’sreferee-VAReducationandtechnicalrequirementshavebeenfulfilled.Havingbeenacceptedintotheexperiment,eachcompetitionmustgain(separate)permissionfromTheIFABwhenitisreadyfor‘live’useofVARsinseniormatches.
Experiment – Test results and final decision Howisexperimentmonitoredandhowisfeedbackobtained?
EachparticipantisrequiredtosubmitfeedbackdataandvideofootageofVAR-relatedincidentsusingadedicatedplatformoverseenbyTheIFAB,withthesupportofFIFA’sFootballTechnologyInnovationDepartment.
ThefeedbackanddataarecrucialforscientificanalysisbyKULeuven(Belgium),auniversitywithconsiderablereferee/footballexperience,whichwasappointedbyTheIFABtoproduceanindependentassessmentoftheVARexperiment.TheanalysisfocusesnotonlyontherefereeingissuesbutalsotheeffectofusingVARsonthegameitselfincludingtheimpressionsofthevariousstakeholders.
WhenwillthefinaldecisionbetakenwhethertoallowVARsinfootball?TheIFABhopestomakeadecisionaboutVARsatitsAGMinearlyMarch2018,butadecisioncouldbedelayeduntil2019ifthereisaneedforfurthertesting/additionaldata.
Application – VAR Procedure Inwhichsituationswilltherefereebeabletorequestvideoassistance?
InformationfromtheVARcanonlybeusedbytherefereeifthereisa‘clearandobviouserror’or‘seriousmissedincident’inoneofthefollowingcategories:
• Goal/nogoal
• Penalty/nopenalty
• Directred-card
• Mistakenidentity–i.e.therefereegivesaYCorRCtothewrongplayeroftheoffendingteam
Nootherincidentscanbereviewed
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TheVAR(helpedbytheAVARandRO)automatically‘checks’everyincidentinthesecategories;iftheVARorrefereebelievestherehasbeena‘clearandobviouserror’ora‘seriousmissedincident’thenthevideoreplayscanbeused.
Most‘checks’takeplace‘inthebackground’andhavenoimpactonthegame(orthereferee),butinsomecasestherefereehastodelaytherestartofthegamefortheVARtocompletea‘check’.InmostcasestheVAR’scheckdoesnotreveala‘clearandobviouserror’ora‘seriousmissedincident’sothereisnocontactwiththereferee–thisisknownasa‘silent’check.
OncetheVARhasinformedtherefereewhatthe‘check’showstherefereewillthendecidewhetherthereshouldbeareviewandwhetherthatreviewwillbebasedsolelyoninformationfromtheVARsorinvolvetherefereegoingtolookatthereplay(s)intherefereereviewarea(RRA)onthesideofthefieldofplay;thisisan‘on-fieldreview’.Attheendofthereviewprocess,therefereemakesafinaldecision.
Whatisthedifferencebetweena'VARonly'reviewandan'on-field’review?
WhentherefereedecidestohaveareviewthenextdecisioniswhetherthereviewwillbebasedsolelyoninformationfromtheVAR(‘VARonly’review)orwillinvolvetherefereealsolookingatthereplayfootageintherefereereviewarea(RRA)justoutsidethefieldofplay(‘on-field’review).
Asageneralguide,a‘VARonly’reviewismostsuitableforfactualdecisionse.g.offsideposition;positionofanoffence(inside/outsidethepenaltyarea);pointofcontact(foulorhandball),balloutofplayetc.The‘on-field’review(OFR)ismostsuitableforsubjectivedecisionssuchasseverityofafoulchallenge,whetherthehand/armwasina‘natural’positionforhandball,interferencebyaplayerinanoffsidepositionetc.FeedbackfromparticipatingcompetitionsshowsagreaterpreferencefortheOFRbecausetherefereeisseentobetakingthemajordecisions,ratherthansomeonewhois‘unseenandunknown’.AnOFRalsomeanstherefereehasalltheinformationnecessarytoexplainthefinaldecisiontotheplayers;thisisespeciallyhelpfuliftheOFRchangestheoriginaldecision.Inevitably,however,anOFRusuallytakeslongerthanaVARonlyreview;thelengthoftimedependsmainlyonthecomplexityoftheincidentandwhetherthereareseveral‘reviewable’aspectse.g.apotentialfoulintheattackwhichresultsinapenaltyincident.
Howdoestherefereesignala‘check’anda‘review’? ‘Check’–iftherefereeneedstodelaytherestartofthegamebecausetheVARisundertakinga‘check’,therefereewillholdafingertooneearandextendtheotherhand/arm.Thereisusuallynosignaliftherestartofthegamedoesnothavetobe
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delayed,unlesstherefereewishestomakeitclearthata‘check’bytheVARistakingplace.
‘Review’–therefereeindicatesthatanincidentwillbereviewedbymakingthesignofaTVscreenwithbothhands.Attheendofthereviewprocess,therefereewillmaketheTVsignalagainbeforethe‘final’decisionisindicated.
Whocaninitiateareview? Onlytherefereecaninitiateareview.TheVARoroneoftheothermatchofficialscanrecommendareviewbutitisuptotherefereewhethertoacceptthatrecommendation.
Whencanareviewtakeplace?
Whilsta‘check’cantakeplaceduringplay,areviewcanonlytakeplacewhenplayisstopped.Formanyincidentsplayhasalreadystoppedbut,ifnecessary,therefereecanstopplaywhenitisinaneutralareai.e.neitherteamhasaverygoodattackingposition.Areviewcannotoccurforanincidentifplayhasrestartedafterthatincident(withtheexceptionofsomeseriousredcardoffences).
IsthereatimelimitforafinaldecisiontobetakenifthereisaVARreview?
Thereisnotimelimitasaccuracyismoreimportantthanspeedandsomesituationsarecomplicatede.g.areviewrevealsamissedpenaltykickbutthenapossibleoffside/foulintheattackingmovebeforethepenaltyincidenthastobereviewed.
Howmuchoftheplaybeforeanincidentcantherefereereview?
Forreviewsrelatingtoagoal,penalty/nopenaltyorDOGSOredcard,therefereecanonlyreviewtheactualattackingmovethatledtotheincident;thismayincludehowtheteamgainedpossessionoftheballinopenplayatthestartoftheattackingmove.
Forredcardoffences(exceptDOGSO)andmistakenidentitytherefereeonlyreviewstheincidentitself.
Howlongafteranincidenttherefereecanchangeadecision? TheLawsoftheGamedonotallowarefereetochangeadecisionifplayhasrestartedandthisappliestotheuseofVARs.Theonlyexceptionisfordirectredcardsoffencesinvolvingviolentconduct,spitting,bitingandextremelyoffensive,insultingorabusivegestureswhichcanbedealtwithatanytimeastheyaresoserious.
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Whotakesthedecisionafteravideoreview?Thefinaldecisionwillalwaysbetakenbythereferee.
WhereistheVARlocated? TheVAR(withtheAVARandRO(s))workinaspeciallyequippedVideoOperationRoom(VOR)intowhichfootageistransmitted.TheVORmaybelocatedin/closetothestadiumorinamatchcentre.
HowdorefereeandVARcommunicatewitheachother? TheVARisincludedintherefereeteam’scommunicationsystemsotheVARcanhearimmediatelyiftherefereeasksforarevieworifthematchofficialsarediscussingapotentialreviewableincident.TheVARcantalktotherefereebyusingan‘on-off’button.
WhatkindofvideofootageisprovidedtotheVAR? TheVARprotocolcurrentlyrequirestheVARtohaveindependentaccessto(andreplaycontrolof)allTVcamerafeedsshowingactionon/closetothefieldofplay.IftheuseofVARsisapproved,itispossiblethattherequirementfortheVARtohaveaccesstoeverycameramaychangeasameansofreducingcostsandmakingtheuseofVARsmorewidelyavailable.
Willthecompetitionsusecamerafeedsthataretelevised?
Yes.ThekeyrequirementfortheuseofVARsisatelevisionsetupinthestadium.Feedsfrommultiplebroadcastcameras(givingdifferentangles)arerequired,andonlythosefeedsmaybeusedforVARs.Noadditionalcamerasbeyondthosethatarepartofthestandardbroadcastplanarerequired.However,additionalcamerascouldbeaddedfortheVARs,providedthebroadcastershaveaccesstothemandthefootageisalsoused/showniftherefereeusesthesespecificcamerafeeds/anglesforthefinaldecision.
Willthevideoreviewsbeshowninthestadiaonscreen?
Thisisadecisionforeachcompetitionasshowingreplayscanhaveanimpactonthebehaviourofplayers,teamofficialsandspectators.
WhathappenswhentheVARtechnologymalfunctionsduringagame?Ifthereplaytechnologymalfunctiontherefereeisinformedandthe4thofficialwillinformthecoaches.ThematchwillcontinuebutwithoutanyVARinvolvement.Ifonlythecommunicationequipmentfails,backupsystemswillbeusedifpossible.
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WhathappensifaplayershowstheTVSignal? IfaplayeraggressivelymakestheTVsignaltotherefereeitisayellowcardoffence;ateamofficialdoingthesamewillbeofficiallyandpublicallywarned.
Whyistherenopossibilitytohaveachallengebyacoachorplayer?
Aseverypossiblereviewableincidentisautomatically‘checked’bytheVARthereisnoneedforchallengesasacoachorplayerwillnotseesomethingthathasnotbeenseenbyoneoftheTVcameras.
Inaddition,achallengesystemwouldhavepracticaldifficulties(e.g.howwouldachallengebeindicated?Wouldtherefereehavetostopplayimmediately?)and,moreimportantly,oneofthereasonstointroduceVARsistoincreasefairnesssoitwouldbewrongtohaveasystemwhereateamhasusedallitschallengesandisthendisadvantagedbya‘clearandobviouserror’whichcannotbereviewed.
Application – VAR profile and education WhoiseligibletoworkasaVARandanAVAR? VARsmustbe(formerorcurrent)toplevelreferees;formerrefereeswhoareusedasVARsmuststillbeinvolvedintoplevelrefereeing.Individualcompetitionsmayhavefurtherrequirements.AssistantVARs(AVARs)mustalsobequalifiedmatchofficials;theycanbeaformerorcurrentrefereeorassistantreferee.
WhatkindofeducationdorefereesandVARsneed? ThetrainingforrefereesandVARsislengthyandcomplexasitinvolvesunderstandingandapplyingtheprotocols,principlesandproceduresaswellasgainingskillandexperienceatquicklyanalysingvideoreplays.
TheeducationofrefereesandVARsisboththeoreticalandpractical,andtakesmanymonthsofintensetraining.
Application – VAR technology and Quality Programme WhatisVARtechnology?
Thevideoreplaytechnologyisatailor-madesystemforfootball,whichisoperatedbyareplayoperator(RO),andprovidestheVARwiththebestavailablecameraanglesandreplayspeedsinthefastestpossibletime.
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WhyisthevirtualoffsidelineachallengefortheVARtechnology?Checkingoffsidepositionsofplayershasproventobeoneofthemoredifficulttasksduetothenumberofvariablesandtheveryshorttime-spaninwhichthedecisionneedstobemade.Theexactpitchdimensions,includinganyphysicalcamberonthefieldaswellasdistortionsofthecameralenses,makeitverydifficultforavirtuallinetobedrawnthataccuratelyrepresentsatruestraightlineasitwouldbephysicallydrawnacrossthefield.FIFAinvitedanumberofproviderstodemonstratetheirtechnologyandassesstheaccuracyofsuchsystemsinOctober2017usingamatchdaybroadcastsetupinaBundesliga2stadiuminSandhausen(Germany).ThetestsshowedthatanumberofVARsystemprovidersarecapableofcalibratingoffsidelinesfromanumberofdifferentanglesaccuratelyorevenveryaccuratelywherebytheadditionalchallengeofinstantprovisionwillbetestedatalaterstage.
WilltherebeacertificationprocessinplaceforVARtechnology?TheprovisionofaVARsystemcarriesanumberofchallengesincludingmakingallbroadcastfeedsavailableinreal-timetotheVARandthereplayoperator(RO)inordertomakedecisionsinlinewiththeIFAB’sdirective:“minimuminterference,maximumbenefit”.Therefore,onlysystemsthathavedemonstratedtheabilitytomeettheserequirementsareeligibletobeusedincompetitivematchesaspertheLawsoftheGame.TheFIFAQualityProgrammewillfocusonthreecoreareas:VARsystemsetup,VARsystemperformanceandthequalityofVARreplayoperators.
Willtherebedifferentqualitylevelsforthecertificationprocess?
TheVARsystemmustbeabletomeetaminimumnumberofinfrastructurerequirementstoensureabasicfunctionalityaswellasstandardisedsetupforrefereesandoperators.Thissetupistestedintwodifferentconfigurationtypeswhichareindicativeofthetwointendedlevelsofuse:basicandelite.Theaimofthetwosetupsisforthesystemtodemonstratetheprinciplesofitstechnicalcapacitytoprocessthenumberofcamerafeedsinastandardisedway.
WhatisthequalificationprocessforVARreplayoperators?
LiketheVARs,replayoperators(ROs)playacrucialroleinensuringafunctioningsystem.Fortheavoidanceofdoubt,theoperatoristheindividualthatisindirectcommunicationwiththemainVARduringamatch.Assuch,minimumrequirementsintermsoftrainingofoperatorswillberequiredinorderforthemtobeeligibletooperateaVARsystemforacompetitivematch.
Operatorsmaybeemployeesofatechnologyprovider,directemployeesofanationalassociation,competition,leagueorindependentindividualsthatmeetthecriteria.
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Information Moreinformationcanbefoundon
- http://www.theifab.com/projects/video-assistant-referees-vars-experimentand
- www.fifa.com/Football-Technology