SAOT AND UEFA

UEFA announce the first outing for their semi-automated offside technology, designed to fix VAR problems. The technology will have its debut in European football, such as when the Champions' League holders, Real Madrid, face Europa League Champions, Eintracht Frankfurt in the 47th edition of the UEFA Super Cup in Finland,at the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki on August 10. The match will be the first UEFA club competition final to be held in Finland. The stadium was previously used as a venue for the UEFA Women's Euro, where it hosted four group stage matches and the final.

The match is also a repetition of the 18th May 1960 European Cup Final between both clubs, which Real Madrid won 7–3. It was played at Hampden Park, Glasgow and it was one of the first matches I watched (in black and white!!) on a very small tv.

Route to the Final

Real Madrid				Round	Eintracht Frankfurt
Opponent	Agg.	1st leg	2nd leg		Opponent	Agg.	1st leg	2nd leg
Jeunesse Esch	12–2	7–0 (H)	5–2 (A)	First round	Young Boys	5–2	4–1 (A)	1–1 (H)
Nice	6–3	2–3 (A)	4–0 (H)	Quarter-finals	Wiener Sport-Club	3–2	2–1 (H)	1–1 (A)
Barcelona	6–2	3–1 (H)	3–1 (A)	Semi-finals	Rangers	12–4	6–1 (H)	6–3 (A)

The semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) that will speed up marginal VAR decisions and provide improved accuracy is set to be used in a UEFA competition for the first time at this month’s Super Cup, the governing body has confirmed.

Real Madrid face Eintracht Frankfurt, in Helsinki (a neutral ground), next Wednesday. with the new tech, which sees specialised cameras positioned across stadiums to track 29 body parts of every player, given its first European run-out following trials in several competitions over the past two years.

"UEFA is constantly looking for new technological solutions to improve the game and support the work of the referees. This innovative system will allow VAR teams to determine offside situations quickly and more accurately, enhancing the flow of the game and the consistency of the decisions," UEFA’s head of referees Roberto Rosetti said.

UEFA said 188 tests have been carried out on SAOT since 2020. These tests took place in all matches in last season's Champions' League, the knock-out stage of the Women's Champions League and the Women's European Championship tournament, which was won by England on Sunday.

But the Super Cup will be its first official use and there are plans for it to be utilised at all Champions League matches from the group stage onwards. "The system is ready to be used in official matches and implemented at each Champions League venue," Rosetti added.

In a briefing at the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, when SAOT was in use for the first time in club fixtures, FIFA’s chief referee Pierluigi Collina (below) scorned at any reference to the technology being a “robot referee”. Instead, he underlined that "it is a tool that will be used by the video assistants".

“I know that for headlines, ‘robot offside’ or something similar is very easy, but this is not the case,” Collina said. “You have seen that the technology is simply a tool used by a human being. The message is sent to the VAR, the AVAR, they use the information coming from this technology and then they make the final decision." “There is not any outcome bypassing the match officials on the field of play, off the field of play. They are involved in the decision-making process and they are responsible for the final decision taken. It is still a tool. It is a tool available to increase accuracy and improve the time, something quicker.”

Meanwhile, UEFA also confirmed that English referee Michael Oliver will take charge of the game between Real and Eintracht. Stuart Burt and Simon Bennett of England, will be his assistants.