VAR has been a controversial addition to football over the last decade, with fans pided over how it has enhanced or detracted from the beautiful game.
In recent years, FIFA and its affiliated confederations have attempted to improve the use of replay by adding cutting-edge technology to the referee’s arsenal in the hope that a better toolbox will increase the referee’s ability to make the right decision at a moment’s notice. given.
Euro 2024 fans were shocked to see a bar of sound waves on their television screens during a critical late-match VAR decision in Belgium’s shock defeat to Slovakia at the start of the group stage.
Jugo Mobile brings you everything you need to know about how this new technology works and what it can be used for.
The new VAR technology uses a contact sensor on the ball
The 2024 European Championship marks the debut of what has been called “connected ball technology”, whereby a chip in the official tournament ball can detect even the slightest ball contact.
This additional technology has numerous uses, but was most noticed by fans when Romelu Lukaku seemingly tied Belgium with Slovakia in the final minutes of their Euro 2024 group match. As Slovakia sought the historic upset, Belgium was denied in every way imaginable, seeing the opposing goalkeeper make numerous exceptional saves, a goal being cleared off the line by a defender and even an earlier VAR decision that erased a possible tie.
Thus, when Lukaku scored, the Belgian fans groaned when the referee turned to the monitor again to check a possible handball in the build-up on Luis Openda.
As the referee watched the incident on the fieldside monitor, he had a new tool at his disposal that fans could also see on their televisions: a “snicko” monitor that displayed what looked like a sound wave monitor as the replay moved. from side to side.
The new technology is due to a chip embedded in the game ball that can detect even the slightest contact with the ball. It has numerous uses, but here it helped the referee determine that Openda’s hand did indeed brush the ball and the moment in question, and the goal was ultimately disallowed.
Adidas debuts “Connected Ball technology” at Euro 2024
The official ball of Euro 2024, known as Al Rihla, is manufactured by Adidas, which announced the introduction of “Connected Ball technology” that includes a contact sensor chip inside.
According to Adidas’ official statement, “Al Rihla will be the first official World Cup ball to feature this innovation, providing accurate ball data, which will be available to match officials via video in real time.
“Combined with player position data and through the application of artificial intelligence, the innovative connected ball technology contributes to FIFA’s semi-automatic offside technology and provides video assistant referees with instant information to help optimize the shot. of decisions”.
Adidas stated that they worked together with FIFA and computer and sensor technology providers KINEXON to create the ball that “allows match officials to review live data for the first time by automatically providing highly accurate information, 500 times per second, about when a player has touched the ball.” the ball.”
What is snicko? Cricket replay technology comes to football…sort of
The replay review system in cricket is considered one of the cleanest and most decisive in all of sports.
An important component of this is the “snicko,” which can help umpires determine whether the bat actually made contact with the ball in close calls. This sound wave monitor will display a signal when the ball comes into contact with the batter’s equipment, a useful tool in an umpire’s arsenal.
This appeared to be exactly what the VAR official used in the Belgium vs. Slovakia, but it is not as similar as it seemed. While the snicko is a sensitive sound monitor, the device inside the ball measures contact, not sound, and is therefore more accurate in determining whether someone or something touched the ball.
Chip also assists in semi-automatic offside decisions
Assisting in handball attacks is not the only use of the contact sensor inside the ball.
VAR officials will also use the sensor during offside decisions, as determining the exact kick-in point is an essential part of the semi-automatic offside technology process.
Triangulation using numerous cameras in the stadium can produce a real-time representation of the match by a computer, which then determines whether a player was on or offside. However, to do this you must know exactly when the pass in question was delivered in order to properly position the players on the field. Use the contact sensor to do just this, as the ball will tell the semi-automatic offside processor exactly when it was kicked.
Why was Romelu Lukaku’s goal for Belgium vs Slovakia disallowed?
The first public use of the Connected Ball sensor for a VAR review came in a late incident during Belgium vs. Slovakia in which Romelu Lukaku’s tying goal was disallowed by a handball against his teammate Luis Openda in the build-up.
It was clear that Openda’s hand brushed the ball, thanks in part to the sensor clearly showing contact with the player’s arm or hand.
However, the decision remained controversial. While the handball threshold for a goalscorer is extremely low, as any handball infringement leads to the goal being disallowed, the same rules do not apply for those in the build-up. Instead, contact with the hand or arm in the build-up to a goal must be “deliberate” to score the goal.
As Openda’s touch was extremely light, not very deliberate and did not seem to help him control possession, the decision to disallow the goal seemed extremely harsh to him.
