Former FIFA referee backs VAR but concerned by AI
Speaking at the Thinking Football Summit, former FIFA referee Duarte Gomes insists VAR has proven to be 'the best thing to happen in football in decades', but is concerned about the potential of AI and technology replacing referees.
Transcript
00:00 Yes, always technology to help, not to substitute the referee.
00:03 I don't have the slightest doubt that it's the best thing that happened to football and to referee for decades.
00:15 It's not perfect, far from that.
00:17 People who work in VR are also learning and they are focused always on their career as a referee inside the pitch.
00:25 I believe in around the world thousands and thousands of goals have been saved or cancelled correctly after VAR.
00:33 So yes, it's good for football, it's a Ferrari, you just have to have the right driver to be there.
00:38 I'm a little concerned about IA in the future, of course also in referee matters.
00:49 I believe it will have an important role.
00:51 I believe technology should always help until the point that the human decides.
00:56 The human first, the technology after and not the other way around.
01:00 Because football is for people, it's played for people, with people and refereed with people.
01:05 And that's what gives the emotion to the match.
01:07 I would agree with transparency of process and rational communication.
01:18 You don't have to talk every time, every match, because it will be banalised and everybody will say
01:23 "You talk too much, you don't do whistle very well".
01:25 Show the audios of VAR and referee, even if the decision is wrong.
01:29 Including the fans and the clubs into our process, invite them to see what we do in a very clear, open way.
01:37 I believe it's getting worse, you know, because social media gives the right to everybody to criticise,
01:47 especially the ones who didn't do it with public voice before.
01:51 We are eager of results so much that we forget that there are people in there who also have a family.
01:57 We tend to forget that the referee is a human being who makes mistakes, even with the technology.
02:03 In the end of the day, we're just good people trying to do our best as our players and coaches.