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The Spanish Super Cup will begin next week in its final four formats, with the Royal Spanish Football Federation using it as a chance to bring in new technology.
According to MD, for the first time, the automatic VAR for offsides will be used in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The technology, which automatically puts together a picture of offside decisions and gives the referee a clear ruling, was in operation in the Champions League, European Supercup and World Cup already this year.
The idea is that it should eliminate controversy from the decisions, with machines rather than people putting the lines into place for an offside call. Time will also be saved in the process.
On the whole, it worked well at the World Cup, save for one case where a refereeing team seemingly forgot to use it, and the call was made by looking at the screen. With this technology, it would be taken out of the referee’s hands.
Meanwhile goal-line technology will not be used. The RFEF consider that the images are sufficient and that the significant cost does not justify its usage.
The semi-finals take place between Real Madrid and Valencia next Wednesday at 21:00 CEST, and Barcelona face Real Betis at 21:00 CEST on Thursday. Traditionally, Antonio Mateu Lahoz has been considered one of the RFEF’s top referees, but given the controversy surrounding his recent performances, he may be ‘rested’.
