Football Production Summit: How to successfully deploy VAR systems into football

At SVG Europe’s Football Production Summit in Paris on March 14, Stéphanie Dessart, EVS, Senior Product Manager; Nuno Manuel Silva Pereira, Mediapro, Project Manager; and Marcin Serafin, Ekstraklasa Live Park, COO, will discuss what to consider when deploying VAR.

Video refereeing in football is a very hot topic and increasingly, more leagues and governing bodies are using it to reduce mistakes made by officials during a match. If used correctly, VAR technology will improve the sport for fans, players and referees. This session will highlight what should be considered when deploying a VAR workflow, including the speed and precision of a system and how it integrates into existing live broadcast infrastructures.

Using real-world examples, it will also look at the advantages and disadvantages of deploying a video operations room within an OB, stadium or media centre. It will examine such topics as: where to place the video operation room (VOR): the balance between speed and accuracy; and integration with the live broadcast.

A common criticism that certain players and fans have expressed with the use of VAR so far has been the time that it sometimes takes to confirm the initial call or review it. The governing bodies of football have expressed their desire for minimum interference with the game.

That is why it is important to deploy VAR technology that guarantees both speed and precision while giving officials total control. The browsing to select the appropriate camera feeds needs to be swift and the interface must be intuitive, so that officials can feel confident when reviewing the action.

The number of cameras deployed is also an important consideration. If you have more camera angles to choose from, you will gain accuracy. However, this will slow down the process. So how many cameras are needed to have a right balance between speed and accuracy?