VAR spoils England's party - but what about these other tech innovations in sport?

England's VAR-dy party didn't go to plan. Here are some other tech innovations that have made their impact on the sporting landscape

Eng-er-land's boys were undone last night in their pre-World Cup prep by a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decision that awarded a penalty to Italy's Federico Chiesa. 

Jamie Vardy had put England ahead in their friendly at Wembley, until a penalty was awarded in the 87th minute, after referee Deniz Aytekin spent what some deemed a little too long consulting VAR.

Gareth Southgate questioned the use of VAR here.

"I think the ruling is 'clear and obvious' and this is not," he said. "It's one you can debate all day".

Interestingly, most people agree that James Tarkowski's foul was a penalty. The disagreement seems to be over exactly when and how VAR should be used. Some folk reckon it should just be reserved for clearing up clearly wrong decisions. Others reckon it should be there to clear up any decision where there's confusion. 

We'll have to wait and see whether anyone can actually agree over the use of VAR in football. In the meantime, here are just a few other sporting technological innovations that have had varying degrees of success.

Equipping referees with microphones is common practice in sports like rugby union, but hasn’t ever really taken off in football mainly thanks to one fateful experiment back in 1989, when referee David Elleray wore a microphone during a match between Millwall and Arsenal.

The whole thing was for an ITV documentary. Unfortunately, despite both clubs being notified, Arsenal forgot to pass on the message to their players. Perhaps had they done, they may have prevented some choice outbursts, especially from Tony Adams.

After that little experiment, the mic was well and truly dropped.

Microphones were introduced for limited use by referees in Australia’s A League in 2014, and Mark Palios, ex-Football Association chief executive, has argued microphones should be used to investigate allegations of abuse. However, we’re yet to see any widespread use.

In 1996, Fox Sports had the rights to broadcast National Hockey League (NHL), and decided to enhance the viewing experience by fitting pucks with infrared technology and LED lights. These were pre-HD times, and the idea was that FoxTrax (the official name for the tech) would allow viewers to follow the course of the puck.

The only issue was that FoxTrax was massively distracting and made it look like the players were shooting light sabers. It lasted for two seasons (between 1996 and 1998) and was dropped when NHL coverage changed network. 'Glow Puck' (as it's become known) has since been remembered as a bit of a misstep.

Perhaps, though, the tech just came too early, before it could be executed properly.

In 2017, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman admitted, external: "Actually, we are working on a dramatically updated version of that technology, and we have plans to roll out updated player and puck tracking. We are literally going back to the future."

Glow Puck's legacy can also be seen in current sports broadcasting - the company that created FoxTrax also went on to use the same kind of technology to pioneer the NFL’s magic yellow line, external.

Tennis officiating has come a long way since John McEnroe screamed at umpire Edward James in 1981 and earned himself a catchphrase forever, "you cannot be serious!"

Had McEnroe been playing today, we would sadly have probably been denied that outburst, because he could have used a 'challenge' instead of blowing his top.

'Hawk-Eye' technology uses Synchronised Multi Angle Replay Technology (SMART) to trace the line of a ball and recreate that in a 3D representation, to judge whether a ball landed in or out.

Launched in 2001, it's now an embedded part of the game. It's also used in cricket (more on that later) and there has been talk that other sports could adopt it too.

In 2006, Spalding, the NBA’s official basketball maker, put out a triumphant press release, external about the introduction of a new synthetic, microfibre ball that would replace the traditional leather version.

The new ball, pictured below, was cheaper to produce than a leather one, and would "offer better grip, feel, and consistency".

The complaints from players started immediately: that the ball became slippery when wet, didn’t bounce as well as the leather one, and had more friction - meaning players were getting their hands cut. Shaquille O’Neal said, external that whoever designed it needed to be sacked.

On 1 December 2006, the NBA Players Association filed a complaint with the US National Labor Relations Board. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, asked for a study, external comparing the balls, and the subsequent research backed up complaints by players, external.

David Stern, NBA Commissioner, apologised, external for not consulting players before rolling out the new ball. “In hindsight, we could have done a better job. I take responsibility for that,” he said. By 11 December 2006, the NBA admitted defeat and that was that. The microfibre ball only lasted for three months in total.

Despite it's traditional image, cricket has been a bit of an innovator when it comes to using technology.

On-field Test match umpires have been able to refer some decisions to a third umpire since 1992 and video assistance on run-outs and stumpings were available then too.

However, the first Decision Review System (DRS) to include player reviews over contentious stuff like LBW and caught-behind decisions, was trialled in a match between India and Sri Lanka in 2008.

The umpires can utilise a number of tools, including television replays, Hawk-Eye technology, microphones that detect small sounds as a ball hits bat or pad and infrared cameras, to detect heat changes as a ball hits a bat or pad.

Some leading Test playing nations, notably India, were slow to get on board, but DRS has become a key component of Test cricket.

Artificial turf was invented by David Chaney in the US during the 1960s and is still popular in sports such as the NFL, but has never really been accepted in UK football.

There was a spell, however, during the '80s, when QPR, Luton, Preston, and Oldham played on plastic pitches - a far cry from today's 3G and 4G offerings.

Joe Royle, Oldham manager at the time, was definitely in favour. "I always thought, psychologically, that it gave us an edge," he has said.

However, plastic pitches were blamed for an increase in injuries, slippage, and unpredictable ball movement, with keepers needing to wear long trousers to avoid carpet burn and goal kicks bouncing over the crossbar.

Artificial pitches have come a long way since then and 4G pitches are now a regular feature at non-league clubs, and often spotted in the early rounds of the FA Cup - although they don't take too well to flares.

Article originally published 30 January 2018

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