FIFA to test run robot referees

The world football governing body has concluded plans to test-run robotic referees at the upcoming Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi.

In a move targeted towards liberalising the game of football, the new technology which has been described as “limb tracking” is expected to make automatic offside decisions within half a second.

FIFA says it has the “potential to provide new insights for coaches, medical staff, and fans” and the technology would enable backroom staff to “analyse the action from the point of view of a specific player on the pitch, scrutinise a match changing moment from the perfect angle or get a bird’s-eye view of the pitch.

According to Afrinews, the ‘Artificial Intelligence’ will also be connected to Video Assistant Referees (VAR) which will receive a near-instant alert to whether the technology determines a player is On or not and that will then be immediately relayed to the referee.

The football governing body has often maintained that its innovations will not ridicule human involvement in the game but rather make it more accurate.

Chelsea and other clubs will experience the latest trial of “robot referees” at next week’s Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi.

The success of the innovation is expected to inspire its full implementation in time for November’s World Cup.

Fifa’s football technology and innovation director, Johannes Holzmuller, explained:

“When the ball is played, the real-time AI software can send a signal automatically to the VAR.

“We will have a committed assistant VAR who can process the offside data and help determine if the player deemed to be offside was active and interfering with play, so they can swiftly validate and confirm the decision”.