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Officiating and technology

Technology is also used by officials to make more accurate. The technology and how it is applied varies widely according to the sport. Usually it supports officials to:

  • confirm if a foul or has been committed
  • confirm if a ball or player is still in play
  • judge which athlete finished in which place
  • measure heights, distances and times
  • keep time, including stoppage time
  • keep score

Use of technology

The use of technology in sport is not new. In the 1980s, tennis was one of the first sports to use technology to support officials' decision-making. A system was introduced to determine whether a serve was in or out. It worked by projecting horizontal beams of light across the court, 10 mm above the ground. When the ball broke a beam, the system beeped. As sport technology evolved over the years, similar systems were adopted for a number of other sports including cricket and football. Now they can instantly relay a result to the referee and provide TV replay so there can be no doubts by spectators.