Football referees get 3D training to help with off-side decisions

Assistant football referees are being taught how to carry out their role in the beautiful game with the help of 3D multimedia exercises, which should help them make decisions about whether players are off-side.

Researchers from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) have recorded simulations played out on a pitch in 3D for FIFA, which can be used as teaching material for the footballing body's assistant-referee training courses.

So far the team at the Spanish University have recorded 500 simulations of off-side plays, which they said offers trainee refs "a visual experience" similar to what they will see on the pitch.

It can also help with visual perception allowing them to make better calls when they have to make decisions about whether a play is off-side.

UC3M professor Manuel Armenteros, project coordinator, explained: "The use of stereoscopic images will significantly improve the learning experience due to the fact that a 3D stereoscopic image-learning environment generates a visual experience that is much more realistic than 2D."

The use of stereoscopic 3D, which makes use of two lenses, one for each eye, is not a new technique. But the breakthrough for the Spanish researchers has been the ability to digitally enhance the images, which eliminates the imperfections of previous techniques. Professor Armenteros said this was as an important step as the introduction of colour.