AI Could Revolutionize VAR in the Premier League

Is it Living Up to Its Promise of Fairness?

One thing that could help is if VAR is used more consistently and effectively. For example, VAR was introduced to assist with clear and obvious errors, but it seems that some decisions that should be clear and obvious are being ignored by the video assistant referee ¹.

If VAR isn’t going to right the wrongs in situations like this, then why was it introduced into the game?

Better Communication Between Referees and Fans Could Improve the Game

Another factor that could improve the use of VAR is better communication between the referees and fans. Fans often feel left in the dark when it comes to VAR decisions, which can lead to frustration and confusion ¹. By providing more information about the decision-making process, referees could help fans better understand the role of VAR in the game.

Ultimately, the success of VAR will depend on how well it is implemented and how willing fans are to accept it as part of the game. While there may be some growing pains along the way, it’s clear that VAR has the potential to make football fairer and more enjoyable for everyone involved.

What if the “A” in VAR could become “Automated” instead of “Assistant”?

The Video Automated Referee of tomorrow could be a robot that can make the most accurate decisions within a fraction of a second. That’s what world cups in the 2030s could look like!

The main underlying technology behind the next VAR would lie in video/image recognition, designed to allow computers to obtain, analyze, and process information. Specifically, image recognition would be the most important capability for the next VAR, as a video is actually a sequence of images/frames captured and displayed at a given frequency. This will provide all the data that AI-powered machines will need to analyze and make the best decision for every situation. However, this will come with some technical challenges.

With AI-powered machines, VAR could become more than just a video assistance technology for referees to make decisions based on real-time judgments. It could make football fairer and improve the experience of watching matches. However, there are still technical challenges that need to be overcome before this can become a reality.

Kickoff?

Well, as of now, the semi-automated offside technology is used as a support tool for referees to make faster, more accurate, and more reproducible offside decisions. However, the lead VAR referee still needs to manually validate both the kick point and the offside line after receiving an automated alert.

If the above challenges are overcome, the offside technology can be fully automated and much faster. With more advanced AI technology involved, such as more accurate object detection algorithms and more efficient model training processes, we believe that the future VAR would not require a human referee to monitor the screens. Instead, offsides, fouls, and ball positions can be automatically detected in real-time. There will be no constant video replays and discussions anymore – the dream of every football fan nowadays.

Conclusion: AI Could Revolutionize VAR in the Premier League

While the introduction of VAR in football has been met with mixed reactions, it’s clear that the technology is still in its early stages and has room for improvement. By using VAR more consistently and effectively, and by improving communication between referees and fans, we can work towards making the game fairer and more enjoyable for everyone. With the help of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies, we can look forward to a future where VAR is an integral part of the game and helps to improve the overall experience for players and fans alike.

Fast facts:

• The images are collected from different camera angles, and even if the algorithm could prove to be efficient and accurate enough to identify and track the player’s gesture in any of the 2D images, it would still be hard to make it accurate enough in the 3D space of the real world. 
• Various image and facial recognition algorithms have been developed and reached an error rate of just 0.08% in face identification, but it will still need to be a technological breakthrough to integrate these with VAR.
• The use of AI in VAR decisions will require significant investment in infrastructure and technology to ensure that the system is reliable and accurate.

Despite these challenges, the potential benefits of AI-powered VAR decisions in football are significant, and many experts believe that it is only a matter of time before this technology becomes a reality.

Sources

• ¹: The Sports Despatch
• bdo.co.uk
• stegforhalsa.se
• fifa.com