PhD on the impact of slow motion videos on football referees' perception and decision-making process

[J79]

"Slow motion makes football referees more likely to give a red card - Video assistant refereeing in football has to be used with caution. Researchers at KU Leuven have shown that refs are more likely to give red when they see a foul committed in slow motion, even when a yellow card is more justifiable. This is because fouls viewed in slow motion appear to be more serious."
https://nieuws.kuleuven.be/en/conte...tball-referees-more-likely-to-give-a-red-card

Interesting topic, although I think it's sometimes also the other way around: slow motion can also make a foul seem less serious. VAR will have to find the right balance between replays in slow motion and replays in real time. Guess that's one of the things that will come with experience.

 

[Emil]

I believe that FIFA instructions, for this reason, are that referees/VARs should watch slo-mo replays only to determine if a foul is committed (point of contact, ball/leg first, etc.). To determine the severity and intensity of fouls, FIFA wants referees to watch at full speed. But then of course, FIFA/UEFA training materials (the UEFA RAPs, etc.) all include videos of fouls with slow-motion replays, so there might be some inadvertent conditioning there.

 

[J79]

This is a quote from the article:

"Based on the results of this study, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) has already issued guidelines for the use of slow motion videos: they can only be used to determine whether a foul was committed inside or outside the penalty area, or to locate the impact of a tackle on the opponent’s body."

 

[Sheffields Finest]

Standard type fouls always look worse in slow-mo on the TV I have no doubt. I would say when there is a bad foul the decent players know, they know whats naughty, whats OTT, by reading the game and the temperature of the game its very rare a very bad foul comes out of absolutely nothing (in my experience). In a tasty game you usually know who the culprits could be, clever word in the ear refereeing does help but ultimately things do happen in retribution and malice. I think in all my times of RC for bad fouls, and I've seen plenty, i think only one came out of the blue to everybody. nasty, nasty tackle, slow mo as i think back its as many reds and misconduct charges as you can give!!! How that lad is still walking today i will never know. I'll never have the benefit of VAR or replay stuff but i always thought of myself as a decent judge of intent and nastiness or not. Whether the players agree I will never know, thats what we are all there for, our judgements with very little help!!!

 

[Peter Grove]

Interesting topic, although I think it's sometimes also the other way around: slow motion can also make a foul seem less serious.

I would have to say I can't recall any instances of that. It sometimes shows that no foul actually occurred but that's not the same thing. In my experience, slo-mo almost invariably makes any foul contact look worse. Not only does this study make that point, it's frequently remarked on whenever the subject comes up in almost any context.

Just to reconfirm the IFAB policy on this, the VAR protocol says that, "The referee can watch footage in normal speed &/or in slow motion but, in general, slow motion replays should only be used for “point of contact” for physical offences and handball; normal speed should be used for the “intensity” of an offence ..."

 

[J79]

I would have to say I can't recall any instances of that. It sometimes shows that no foul actually occurred but that's not the same thing. In my experience, slo-mo almost invariably makes any foul contact look worse. Not only does this study make that point, it's frequently remarked on whenever the subject comes up in almost any context.

One common example would be minimal contact when players are running at full speed. Smallest touch can then be enough to disbalance a player. Slow motion not always captures that properly.

Another concrete example I remember was a short but brutal push in the back, player was really catapulted forward, clear foul in normal speed. In slow motion though it just seemed a weak push, you didn't really see how big the impact was. And it even looked liked the fouled player "reacted late" to the push (threw himself to the ground) because there was no contact anymore when he went down.

 

[OIREF!]

Is this sort of nonsense really worthy of a PhD? If I'd spent years at university I hope my contribution to society would be a bit more meaningful.