Technical committee stands firm on VAR’s role in disallowing Lewandowski’s goal – report

The Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) has addressed the disallowed goal by Robert Lewandowski in the 13th minute of the Real Sociedad-Barcelona match.

According to the committee, the VAR decision was accurate and justified, with no errors in how the play was interpreted.

They confirmed that there was no confusion between players, particularly between Nayef Aguerd and Lewandowski, as some may have thought.

The committee emphasized that they used additional resources to ensure accuracy, including reviewing the play with ten extra cameras beyond those used for the standard broadcast.

This extra effort was to make sure the technology, specifically the offside detection system, was working correctly.

How does SAOT work?

The Semi-automatic offside technology (SAOT) uses a network of 10 to 12 cameras placed on the roof of the stadium to track all players and the ball. These cameras are not connected to the TV broadcast and are dedicated to monitoring the on-field action.

The high-frequency capture of the players’ movements by these cameras ensures that even the smallest shifts in positioning are accounted for, improving the overall speed and accuracy of the offside determination process.

The integration of this technology helps reduce human error and makes offside decisions clearer and more reliable. This technology relies on the Hawk-Eye system, which is capable of tracking the players’ positions with remarkable precision.

The system captures 29 different points on each player’s body up to 50 times per second, allowing it to calculate their exact position on the field.

The Hawk-Eye system ensures that any potential offside is identified with great accuracy, even when the margins are extremely small.

This process, while taking a few seconds, helps avoid mistakes, reducing the time taken to make a decision to around 25 seconds, though it can take longer in certain situations.