Improving VAR - Brainstorm

[socal lurker]

i think it's just a general frustration with letting play continue where everyone knows it's offside, this leads to dissent from players and abuse from the crowd which is easily avoided, as you suggest, but better training and implementation

as @GraemeS noted, clear OS is supposed to be flagged immediately today, and always has been. But there is a learning curve on resetting habits that leads ARs to over adjust. The PL just seems to be slower than most in adjustin. But they seem to be pretty bad in all aspects of VR, so….

I’m not really a fan of a challenge system, but I imagine it will be trialed somewhere in the next few years.

I don’t think getting rid of the obvious error concept works—the gray exists and pretending there is always a right answer will do nothing to reduce controversy.

 

[GraemeS]

That's a really good point, I wonder why the grey is just accepted in rugby TMO and seems to be something people hate in football? I assume it's because we get to hear the conversations in rugby - although I think VAR needs more significant changes, I do wonder if we'd see a big improvement in acceptance of VAR decisions if we actually heard the chat?

 

[Peter Grove]

i see where you're coming from, but in the pro game it's a red flag to a bull imo, get the flag up asap unless it's tight etc

this new semi-automated system could be the answer for sure, hopefully

The semi-automated system currently being trialed won't make any difference to the AR mechanics though, all it does is simply the VAR check/review.

As the article below states:

It means the assistant VAR, or in domestic competitions the lead VAR, will be able to see almost instantly if a player is in an offside position.

Semi-automated offside system

 

[GraemeS]

The semi-automated system currently being trialed won't make any difference to the AR mechanics though, all it does is simply the VAR check/review.

As the article below states:



Semi-automated offside system

But the point is, that should then remove the need for the current "delay" protocol - assuming the AR is told immediately of course.

 

[Peter Grove]

But the point is, that should then remove the need for the current "delay" protocol - assuming the AR is told immediately of course.

But that's the whole point, they wouldn't be. The semi-automated system only comes in when the VAR starts to do a check and it still requires the VAR to look at a replay (or replays) first and then choose the frame where they believe the first contact with the ball occurred, before the semi-automated system then analyses the frame the VAR has chosen.

That's why it's only "semi" automated and not fully automatic - it still requires a phase of human intervention and a human decision-making process before it can start to do its job.

The delays inherent in that first human-initiated phase before the software takes over mean it's almost certainly not going to be done quickly enough (in the vast majority of cases) for the AR to be informed before the point where they have to decide whether to raise the flag.

 

[GraemeS]

Fair enough - the article I read suggested the plan was to link it to lights on the flag, but it's entirely possible that wasn't written by anyone who actually has any knowledge.

 

[Peter Grove]

Fair enough - the article I read suggested the plan was to link it to lights on the flag, but it's entirely possible that wasn't written by anyone who actually has any knowledge.

Well, I can't be 100% sure either but I suspect the article I linked to is probably correct, because it quotes Johannes Holzmuller, FIFA's Football Technology & Innovation director, as saying:

We call it semi-automated offside because it's still, in the end, the VAR who has to validate and confirm the proposed offside line and the proposed kick point ...

 

[ChasObserverRefDeveloper]

RA members will be invited to a Zoom session with Jared Gillett on The Evolution of Refereeing in the world of VAR on 14 April - sounds interesting!