Chelsea to trial ‘robot referees’ at Club World Cup

Will Ford
VAR screen as Wolves beat Everton

Chelsea will become the first Premier League club to experience ‘robot referees’ at the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi next week.

Thomas Tuchel’s side will play one of Al Hilal, Pirae or Al Jazira in the semi-final of the competition on February 9, with a final or third place play-off  three days later.


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Unfortunately, the ‘robot referees’ aren’t half as cool as they sound.

They’re essentially an automatic VAR system for offsides, tracking the limbs of players by relying on special cameras attached to the roofs of stadiums to create an animated skeleton of players with 29 data points.

It’s reported they will produce decisions within half a second with VAR officials receiving an alert.

At this stage in development, the VAR officials will then validate the proposed decision, before it is relayed to the referee.

FIFA hopes to implement the system fully in time for the World Cup in Qatar after a successful trial at the recent Arab Cup.

According to FIFA, the new technology has the ‘potential to provide new insights for coaches, medical staff, and fans’, and will enable backroom staff to ‘analyse the action from the point of view of a specific player on the pitch, scrutinise a match changing moment from the perfect angle or get a bird’s-eye view of the pitch.’

Johannes Holzmuller, FIFA’s Director of Football Technology & Innovation, said: “We strongly believe that access to this new data source can positively impact the game by optimising decision-making processes and increasing objectivity.”

“However, we are only at the beginning of this development journey and possible use cases need to be tested thoroughly to assess the capabilities with a view to eventual implementation.”

VAR has been the cause of great frustration for fans, players and managers alike since its inception.

Newcastle midfielder Ryan Fraser said back in December there is “no point” having VAR in the Premier League as it “ruins the game”.

Fraser said: “There’s no consistency, there’s always something – and that’s what VAR is for. If there’s no VAR there, then you take it. It’s the game, referees are going to make mistakes.

“But that’s what VAR is there for, to not make mistakes, so there’s no point in having it. It takes so long for things to happen, there’s no point in having it nowadays, I feel. It ruins the game.”