–media package– information on the video assistant...

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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 1/1 132 nd Annual Business Meeting 22 January, 2018 –Media Package– Information on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) experiment, incl. provisional results

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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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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