From Team 33 to Team One – Gianni Infantino and Pierluigi Collina full of support for World Cup refereeing team

Macdara Ferris reports from Qatar

FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, were full of praise on Friday for their refereeing teams ahead of the kick off of the World Cup this weekend.

Infantino spoke at the start of press event held in the main media centre in Doha. “The referees are for us not only one team, but they are Team One,” said Infantino who will stand unopposed for a third team as FIFA President.

“They are the most important team at the World Cup because without the referees’ team, there is no World Cup.

“I am asking everyone to try to put yourselves in the shoes of the referees just for a moment – (imagine) you were on the ground in front of 80,000 people in a stadium, a few hundred million on television and you have to take instant decisions which can affect entire countries.”

Collina

Pierluigi Collina noted that previously “in many interviews I referred to refereeing team as the 33^rd team of the competition. Today we are ‘Team One’ and that change is so important.”

The 62-year-old Italian confirmed that in addition to in-person and online workshops with the team managers, FIFA refereeing officials have been meeting with the players ahead of the tournament kick-off.

“We have visited all 32 training camps and have given them the same information as their coaches.”

Collina showcased a range of video clips at the media event that have been part of their information sessions with the teams including red card incidents, offside calls, simulation and dissent towards match officials.

VAR technology and tour

Johannes Holzmüller, FIFA Director of Technology & Innovation, showcased to the media the semi-automated offside technology that will be used to aid the referees on the pitch – these tools that have been tested in anger at the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 and FIFA Club World Cup 2021.

After the media event, Holzmuller brought a group of journalists, including extratime.com, across to the International Broadcast Centre where there are four VAR rooms set up to deal with up to the maximum of four games scheduled on some days during the tournament.

The semi-automated offside technology uses a dozen dedicated tracking cameras mounted roofside to track the ball which has an inertial measurement unit positioned in its centre allowing a very precise detection of the kick point. 29 data points are measured from each individual player, 50 times per second, to calculate their exact position on the pitch.

By combining the player- and ball-tracking data and applying artificial intelligence, the new technology provides an automated offside alert.

This is issued to the video match officials inside the VAR room whenever the ball is received by an attacker who was in an offside position at the moment the ball was played by a team-mate. Those officials liaise with the on-field referee allowing decisions to be made more quickly and accurately.

A 3D animation detailing the position of the players at the moment the ball was played will be shown on the TV feed and also on the screens in the stadium. 

Orsato in charge for opener

Italian official Daniele Orsato will be in charge of the opening game of the World Cup.

The 46-year-old will officiate at Sunday’s Qatar and Ecuador game at Al Bayt Stadium.

He was the referee in charge of the 2020 Champions League final between PSG and Bayern Munich.

World Cup Postcard: Qatar bound https://t.co/nXQJOdXlnGpic.twitter.com/hei0uCO32y

— Extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) November 18, 2022