FIFA are considering the possibility of removing linesmen and replacing them with robots, in the use of Video Assistant Referees (VAR), the UK Mirror reports.
Assistant referees could become a thing of the past, as a specific department has now been created, to explore just how influential technology could be on football.
If the findings from FIFA’s VAR team prove that technology can be beneficial and perfectly accurate, the offside flag could also become a thing of history.
“FIFA already have a department set up researching into these exact areas.
“Will they replace referee assistants completely with cameras and computers ruling offsides and throw-ins? It could happen one day,” a source confirmed.
While robots operating down the side of the pitch may be a distant ambition for FIFA chiefs, the anti-VAR brigade will surely be angered by the development.
However, with FIFA President Gianni Infantino a huge advocate of VAR, it seems there is no stopping the growing influence of technology within football.
