The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on the 19th (Korea time), “The AFC will apply a semi-automatic offside system for the first time in the world’s men’s intercontinental cup at the 2023 Asian Cup Qatar,” adding, “We will provide the highest level of performance by assisting Video Reading (VAR) through SAOT.”
Semi-automatic offside reading technology was a system that received great attention at the last World Cup in Qatar. The “semi-automatic offside reading technology,” which was first introduced at the time, was a method in which sensors inside the official ball detected every 500th of a second, and at the same time, 12 special cameras installed in the stadium checked the player’s body.
Artificial intelligence (AI) analyzes such data to determine whether it is offside or not. The referee finally approved it and released it on the stadium’s electronic display panel, allowing both spectators and viewers to know the result immediately. FIFA once said that this system reduced the time required for offside reading from 70 seconds to 25 seconds.
In fact, the semi-automatic offside reading technology reduced the number of offside plays throughout the Qatar event. In particular, the winner Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia 1-2 in the opening game with more than three offside plays.
In many ways, semi-automatic offside readings have significantly reduced misjudgment at the World Cup. However, unlike VAR, which has been widespread right after the World Cup in Russia, semi-automatic offside systems have not yet been introduced for each league, but they will be able to be seen again at the Asian Cup.
The Qatar Asian Cup will be held from Jan. 12 to Feb. 10, 2024. South Korea, which belongs to Group E, will play three matches: Bahrain on Jan. 15, Jordan on Jan. 20, and Malaysia on Jan. 25. If they advance to the final, they have their final match on Feb. 10 at Lusail Stadium.
Unlike the World Cup, in the Asian Cup, where Korea is the favorite to win, there is a variable that allows a counterattack to teams that are defensive. In fact, Korea often collapsed due to the opponent’s offensive even though it dominated the Asian Cup.
These variables disappeared due to the semi-automatic offside system. “We will introduce the semi-automatic offside system to the Intercontinental Cup and show better performance,” AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said. “We will provide the best performance to our players through the latest technological innovation.”
BY: 스포츠토토
