Burr
12-17-2004, 11:12 AM
Offside rule is too complex for the human eye (http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=afp-fblscienceoffside&prov=afp&type=lgns)
PARIS (AFP) - Referees and linesmen who come under fire from armchair fans for misjudging an offside call can take comfort from a study which appears in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
The offside rule is just too complex for the brain and eye to process accurately and only TV cameras and stop-motion pictures can do the job properly, it says in the forthcoming edition of the BMJ.
Spanish doctor Francisco Belda Maruenda says that in order to apply the offside rule correctly, the ref has to keep in his visual field at least five objects simultaneously -- the ball, the last two players of the defending team and two players of the attacking team (the player closest to the goal and the player who passes him the ball).
"This is beyond the capacity of the human eye" unless all five objects are closely congregated in a narrow angle of view, he says.
That situation is unlikely in football, where the five objects could be anywhere within the defenders' part of the pitch.
In a fast-moving game such as football, it takes several hundred milliseconds for the eye to identify and focus on a moving object -- enough time for each player to change position by at least 70 centimeters (two feet) if he is sprinting.
"Competition in most leagues is fierce, and when referees make errors of judgement the consequences can be far reaching," the study says.
If football wants to keep to its present offside rule and avoid controversy, it is best advised to bring in freeze-frame TV and frame-by-frame analysis during the game, it says.
Bah last thing we need in soccer is instant replay.
PARIS (AFP) - Referees and linesmen who come under fire from armchair fans for misjudging an offside call can take comfort from a study which appears in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
The offside rule is just too complex for the brain and eye to process accurately and only TV cameras and stop-motion pictures can do the job properly, it says in the forthcoming edition of the BMJ.
Spanish doctor Francisco Belda Maruenda says that in order to apply the offside rule correctly, the ref has to keep in his visual field at least five objects simultaneously -- the ball, the last two players of the defending team and two players of the attacking team (the player closest to the goal and the player who passes him the ball).
"This is beyond the capacity of the human eye" unless all five objects are closely congregated in a narrow angle of view, he says.
That situation is unlikely in football, where the five objects could be anywhere within the defenders' part of the pitch.
In a fast-moving game such as football, it takes several hundred milliseconds for the eye to identify and focus on a moving object -- enough time for each player to change position by at least 70 centimeters (two feet) if he is sprinting.
"Competition in most leagues is fierce, and when referees make errors of judgement the consequences can be far reaching," the study says.
If football wants to keep to its present offside rule and avoid controversy, it is best advised to bring in freeze-frame TV and frame-by-frame analysis during the game, it says.
Bah last thing we need in soccer is instant replay.