sports
In the age of AI football, players have digital twins, referees are only children, and poetry fades at the bar counter
The technology that deciphers millimeters on the field reveals the sport's greatest asymmetry: the untouchable shield of referees against errors and fans who cheer for VAR.
TL;DR
- VAR and AI are making football decisions highly precise, correcting clear errors through advanced technology and protocols.
- Semi-automatic offside technology uses 3D scanning, AI, and player digital twins to determine offside calls with extreme accuracy.
- This precision creates an imbalance where players are scrutinized and punished rigorously, while referees' errors are handled discreetly and without immediate public consequence.
- The author argues for a symmetrical justice system where referees could also face real-time sanctions, like technical yellow cards, for egregious errors.
- The technological advancement, while aiming for perfection, is seen as stripping football of its poetic unpredictability and the human element of debate.
- The current system protects referees to maintain authority, leading to a paradox of severe player punishment versus lenient referee treatment.