FIFA To Test Automatic Offside Technology Next Week in Preparation for Qatar World Cup

FIFA will trial its new automatic offside technology next week at the Arab Cup as a test to potentially use it at the World Cup in Qatar next year. From a report: As per the Times, the technology relies on an artificial intelligence (AI) system sending an instant message to VAR when a player is offside, with the official then left to determine if a player has interfered with the passage of play or not. The technology will be used at all six stadiums used in the Arab Cup -- which also takes place in Qatar -- and comes after several trials behind closed doors took place at the likes of the Etihad Stadium and the Allianz Arena. Despite being able to relay an instant message to VAR, the technology will only be classed as semi-automated as the verdict will be sent to VAR and not the referee himself.

Next AI Project

[dohzer]

Next Project: Automated player dive detection.

Re: Next AI Project

[Ecuador]

Not really needed. Review matches afterwards, if a player dived, ban them for a couple of matches to start with. See how much they do it if it costs them.

Also.

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone who is "injured", immediately take them to the hospital to be checked out. You will see that people are suddenly tougher after that.

Re:

[TractorBarry]

I've been saying this for years. If a "kickball" player goes down and doesn't get up straight away they should be immediately taken off the pitch for a thorough medical examination and not allowed back on for at least 10 minutes - in the meantime the game carries on. Obviously if they actually are injured they can be immediately substituted (and hopefully the referee and linesman have the wherewithal to detect a deliberate foul and book/send off the culprit etc.).

The other thing that would vastly improve

Re:

[NFN_NLN]

> Modern "kickball" is ful of overpaid. prima donna cheats who, quite frankly, deserve a fucking good hiding.

They learned it from politicians.

Re:

[Weekend Triathlete]

(1) EPL games can't hold a candle to CONMEBOL or Liga MX games. For whatever reason in Latin and South America it is acceptable to not only hammer your opponents on the pitch but to also roll around like your leg was severed in response to the lightest challenges.

(2) Personally, I'm ok with fewer rugby-style challenges and a little more fakery in today's game, as long as it leads to fewer concussions and CTE cases. It's funny you mention rugby because rugby has a big problem with concussions and CTE.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Not sure I understand your "Kickball" quotes. "Football" is a quite good decriptional term, most of the time you are either (indeed) kicking the ball, or dribbling which involves a different kind of footwork.
Now, the American "football", that's a huge WTF right there. It is more accurately called "handegg" in some circles...

Re:

[NateFromMich]

Not sure I understand your "Kickball" quotes. "Football" is a quite good decriptional term, most of the time you are either (indeed) kicking the ball, or dribbling which involves a different kind of footwork.

Kickball was pretty common when I was in elementary school in the US. It's probably not what you're thinking of though.

Now, the American "football", that's a huge WTF right there. It is more accurately called "handegg" in some circles...

This has been explained so many times, even right here on this site, that I just can't bring myself to bother, other than to say it had nothing to do with the shape of the ball or whether you kicked it at all.

Re:

[fred6666]

Not really needed. Review matches afterwards, if a player dived, ban them for a couple of matches to start with. See how much they do it if it costs them.

I have mixed thoughts on this. While I disagree with faking being hurt, pushing is not permitted in soccer (except a few exceptions like shoulder to shoulder). Sometimes you get pushed, but not enough to fall. Competitive soccer players tend to master the art of pushing just enough to get an advantage, but not too much to avoid getting cut. I'd like it if there were automated detectors to call foul when this happens, and this way there wouldn't be any need to dive in hope that the referee calls the foul.
And

Re:

[Ecuador]

Oh, I did not have the cases where there is push/contact in mind. It would be hard to quantify something like that. The most common and utterly annoying for fans problem is when footballers dive (usually for a penalty) without any contact at all, or with completely the wrong kind of contact (think Rivaldo's infamous dive at the corner).
Part of the issue though is that referees tend to not give you a foul if you don't spectacularly fall even if there is obvious contact. That's a different part of the issue t

Re:

[ls671]

Next Project: Automated player dive detection.

At least there would be more room for real AI in that one in order to interpret the data and make a correct call. In detecting if a player is offside, not so much AI needed IMHO! But nowadays even a light that turns itself on at dark is considered AI I guess...

Off sides position is not always off sides

[texas neuron]

Whether the player is in offside position is easy. Not always so easy to determine if the play is actually offsides. Was the offside position of the player interfering with the play is a judgement call at times.

Re:

[ls671]

From TFS:

an artificial intelligence (AI) system sending an instant message to VAR when a player is offside, with the official then left to determine if a player has interfered with the passage of play or not.

So, where is the AI?

Re:

[texas neuron]

Determining the 2nd to last defender and offensive player relative to this I presume.

Re:

[pjt33]

There's always the attitude variously attributed to Brian Clough or Bill Shankly: "If a player is not interfering with play then he shouldn't be on the pitch."

Re:

[AmiMoJo]

I'm surprised they are doing it, people getting angry at the TV because of some dubious off-side decision is part of the attraction of football.

Then again it's already ruined by the insane amounts of money involved, so I have little interest.

Re:

[thegarbz]

Next Project: Automated player dive detection.

They tried that but as soon as the game started the "detection" light went on and didn't go off again.

Why?

[TuballoyThunder]

Human fallibility in officiating is as much part of the sport as missing shoal. Humans are not perfect, why do we expect sports to be perfect?

Re: Why?

[IdanceNmyCar]

it's kinda of like why Ultimate Frisbee wants to avoid referees and in most every game does so with few exceptions. the more there is an outside referee, the more we expect them to be perfect or at least without bias. AI filling this gap makes some feel like this more guaranteed to be true. In theory rigging a baseball game could be trivial if you paid off the referee. Simply because he gets to call balls and strikes. Automating this removes that ambiguity and potential exploit. Same kind of goes here.

Then

Cool

[backslashdot]

Make the players robots too.

Good because only players should be fallible

[couchslug]

Outside fallibility degrades the sport and humans are shit as referees like they're shit at everything else.

What? No, please don't do that to us!

[Opportunist]

If we can't blame the referees anymore for a lost game, we'd have to admit that our heroes are shit players.

Someone mod this up, please

[Petr Blazek]

Thanks!

How about this instead

[wyattstorch516]

Create a strip that will illuminate when a player is offside. Then he will realize it and the other players on offense will realize it too and not pass him the ball. This way you would get rid of the vast majority of offside calls and the game would flow better.