‘Robot Referees’ To Officiate Chelsea’s Club World Cup Matches

Chelsea will have the opportunity to encounter the latest trial of “robot referees” during next week’s Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi

The new technology is expected to make automatic offside decisions within half a second as the match is going on. 

FIFA says it has the “potential to provide new insights for coaches, medical staff, and fans” and the technology would enable backroom staff to “analyse the action from the point of view of a specific player on the pitch, scrutinise a match-changing moment from the perfect angle or get a bird’s-eye view of the pitch.”

We strongly believe that access to this new data source can positively impact the game by optimising decision-making processes and increasing objectivity,” Johannes Holzmüller, FIFA’s Director of Football Technology & Innovation, said.

“However, we are only at the beginning of this development journey and possible use cases need to be tested thoroughly to assess the capabilities with a view to eventual implementation.”