On its Brasileirão debut, semi-automated offside averages 47 seconds | OneFootball

Semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) debuted in the Brasileirão this weekend and has already shown one of its greatest strengths: speed. The system was used on five occasions, with an average review time of just 47 seconds.

On Saturday (25), the technology went into action in the Santos vs. Chapecoense match after the equalizing goal by the team from Santa Catarina, scored by Marcinho, in an operation that took 48 seconds. On Sunday (26), SAOT was activated twice in Flamengo vs. São Paulo, once in Bahia vs. Corinthians, and once in Remo vs. Vitória.

At the Maracanã, São Paulo’s goal was checked in 33 seconds and Flamengo’s goal was disallowed in 64 seconds. It is worth noting that the review time is counted from the initial goal decision. At Fonte Nova, Bahia’s equalizer was disallowed in 32 seconds, and at Mangueirão, Remo’s second goal was confirmed in 62 seconds.

“The first weekend of official use of semi-automated offside was extremely positive and confirmed that we are on the right track. The technology delivered what we expected: more speed, precision, and confidence in decisions, significantly reducing the time needed to review plays and providing greater flow to matches. This result is the product of extensive planning, integration between the CBF, Genius Sports, clubs, refereeing teams, and all the professionals involved in the operation. We will continue monitoring and improving the processes, but this start shows that Brazilian football is adopting international-standard technology, always with the goal of offering refereeing that is increasingly efficient, transparent, and reliable,” said Netto Góes, CBF’s Director of Refereeing.

Netto Góes, CBF’s Director of Refereeing, highlighted the speed, precision, and confidence in decisions with the semi-automated systemCredits: Fábio Souza/ CBF

Each stadium was equipped with 28 to 32 dedicated cameras (the number varies according to each stadium’s infrastructure), supported by five local servers that ensure system connectivity. The devices record the match in 4K quality at 100 frames per second, allowing the system to create a digital replica of the plays on the field.

The captured images are transmitted in real time to the Brazilian Football Confederation’s Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Operations Center in Rio de Janeiro. The center has 10 integrated control rooms equipped with VAR and SAOT technologies.

Regarding comments that appeared on social media, the CBF clarifies that the system used in Brazil operates with image capture at 100 frames per second and automatically identifies the exact instant of the player’s last contact with the ball, the so-called contact point (kick point).

Integration between VAR and SAOT is part of the implementation of semi-automated offsideCredits: Fábio Souza/ CBF

Also automatically, the system recognizes the players involved in the play, defines each player’s points of interest, and generates the result of the offside analysis, with no human interference in that process.

The term “semi-automated” refers exclusively to the validation stage. The video refereeing team does not recalculate, redraw lines, or decide player positioning: its role is to check and confirm what the technology has already produced.

In very rare situations, such as partial occlusions, players occupying virtually the same space, or plays that require interpretation, the VAR may move one frame forward or backward to ensure that the captured contact point corresponds exactly to the moment of the pass. This is a specific precision adjustment, not a change in criteria or outcome. No such situation occurred in the 20th round of the Brasileirão.

Once validation is confirmed, the result is communicated to the on-field referee and the three-dimensional image is shown in the stadiums and on broadcasts. The animation presented to the public is therefore the representation of an automatic calculation that has already been verified.

The main objectives of adopting the technology are speed in decision-making, precision of the result, and transparency of the process. By transferring to the system the identification of the moment of the pass and the positioning of the players, SAOT significantly reduces the margin for interpretation, delivering faster decisions that are also more technically reliable.

See the example below, in which the red dots at the bottom of the video indicate the frames in which there is contact with the ball:

In this test-match frame, the red square with a star at the bottom of the video indicates the player’s contact point with the ball

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.