What Technology was Deployed in FIFA World Cup, Qatar 2022

Semi-automated offside technology, also known as the offside assistant system (OAS), is a technology used in association football (soccer) to assist referees in making offside calls. It is a semi-automated system, which means that it assists the referee, but the final decision is still made by the human referee.

The technology uses a combination of cameras and computer algorithms to determine the positions of players on the field. The cameras capture images of the game and track the positions of the players in real-time. The computer algorithms then analyze the images and determine whether a player is in an offside position.

How does OAS Work?

When the system detects an offside, it sends a signal to the referee's watch or earpiece, alerting them to the potential infraction. The referee can then review the footage on a monitor or tablet and make the final decision.

The technology is used to help the referee make more accurate calls, especially in cases where the offside position is close and hard to judge by the human eye. The semi-automated nature of the system allows for a final human judgment and prevents the technology from making decisions that could change the outcome of the game.

What are the Features of Offside Assistand System?

Semi-automated offside technology, also known as the offside assistant system (OAS), has the following features:

Real-time tracking: The technology uses cameras to capture images of the game and track the positions of the players in real-time.

Computer algorithms: The technology uses advanced computer algorithms to analyze the images and determine whether a player is in an offside position.

Signal to the referee: When the system detects an offside, it sends a signal to the referee's watch or earpiece, alerting them to the potential infraction.

A final decision by the human referee: The semi-automated nature of the system allows for a final human judgment and prevents the technology from making decisions that could change the outcome of the game.

Assistance in close calls: The technology is used to help the referee make more accurate calls, especially in cases where the offside position is close and hard to judge by the human eye.

Review footage: The referee can review the footage on a monitor or tablet and make the final decision.

Integration with VAR: The technology is often integrated with the video assistant referees (VAR) system to assist the referees in making decisions on certain types of plays.

Constant improvement: The technology is still being tested and improved, to make it more accurate and reliable.

Offside Assistant System in FIFA World Cup, Qatar 2022

Semi-automated offside technology was used at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar beginning on November 21. This technology provides a tool for the video match and the on-field team to assist them to make offside decisions more quickly, accurately, and consistently.

Following the 2018 FIFA World CupTM in Russia, where VAR was successfully implemented, FIFA President stated that FIFA will work to fully use technology in football and develop VAR. FIFA has been at the forefront of gaming technology for the last three years.

The new system tracks the ball using 12 specialized tracking cameras positioned below the stadium's roof and analyzes a total of 29 data points for each player, fifty times per second, to determine their precise location on the field. All limbs and endpoints that are important for determining offside are included in the 29 data points that were gathered.

An additional essential component for the identification of narrow offside occurrences was provided as an inertial measuring unit (IMU) sensor would be inserted within the ball. The kick point may be identified with extreme precision thanks to this sensor, which is located in the center of the ball and feeds data to the operation room up to 500 times per second.

The innovative system automatically alerts the video match officials within the operation room if an attacker positioned in an offside space receives the ball played by a teammate by merging the limb as well as ball-tracking data and using artificial intelligence. The video match officials verify the automatically generated kick-point and the automatically generated offside line, based on the computed locations of the players' limbs, before advising the on-field referee of the proposed decision. Offside judgments may be made more quickly and precise thanks to this technique, which just takes a few seconds to complete.

The linked ball technology and semi-automated offside process have both been successfully tested at many test events and actual FIFA competitions, including the FIFA Club World Cup 2021 and the FIFA Arab Cup 2021. Surely, it was deployed finally during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.