Meet Samdroid

Football's Future Referee

The Referee's a… Robot?

First goal-line technology, then VAR… now all eyes are on Samdroid the future of football referees.

Despite the prominence of new technology in the beautiful game, we still regularly have ugly instances of injustice. We've been investigating how the officials of football can improve in years to come and just one solution became clear - Samdroid**.**

With this groundbreaking look at the future of robot refereeing, football can finally focus on entertainment. Count back to some of football's most contentious decisions in history; remember Frank Lampard's ghost goal in the 2010 World Cup, or how about Thierry Henry's handball to deprive Ireland of a spot at that exact tournament? With the introduction of Samdroid, no team will lose out.

Football fans around the world can thank Online Gambling for fixing football - you're welcome.

A Closer Look At Samdroid

Need convincing? Hover over the red dots to see the best features of Samdroid and why robot referees might actually be introduced sooner than we think.

8K Cameras

The entire game is filmed from four unique angles for reviewing decisions and releasing incredible in-game footage to fans.

Solar Powered

All future robot referees will save the world, one decision at a time by being solar powered.

Back Screen

The game clock will be displayed clearly on its back, pausing when the ball goes out of play.

WiFi Antennas

Four WiFi antennas will allow all stored decisions and live data to be shared with an adjudication team.

Voice Recognition

Abuse of all forms could be eradicated as Samdroid will feature voice recognition for the entire pitch, holding all players accountable.

Language Detection

Samdroid is multi-lingual and able to communicate in all languages to fully explain decisions to players.

Front Screen

The front screen will feature yellow and red cards, as well as offside decisions. Simple commands for corners, penalties, free kicks and throw-ins will be displayed here too.

360 Rotation

Samdroid can scan the full pitch in under a second with 360 rotation at the waist.

Bladed Legs

Lightweight, agile, and quick. Samdroid will be able to keep up with the game's fastest teams and players with bladed legs.

Built-In Whistle

Samdroid will get the attention of the full stadium with a loud, clear, and unique sound.

Kit Colour

Samdroid's torso colour will change depending on the colour of each team's kit, to avoid any clashes.

Gender Neutral

Samdroid will be gender neutral, leaving no room for gender discrimination.

Why Samdroid is a Needed Change…

Referees have made some costly mistakes over the years, which only shines a brighter spotlight on their decision making. Here are four examples of how Samdroid could have avoided some of the worst referee mishaps in football history:

Frank Lampard's Ghost Goal

It's the Round of 16 at the 2010 World Cup and Germany are leading England 2-0. Matthew Upson gets a goal back for England on the 37th minute and less than two minutes later, Frank Lampard's audacious lob looks to have swung the tie completely back in their favour. The ball hits the underside of the crossbar and lands about three foot over the goal line, but the ref waves away the protests and the goal isn't given. Instead, England go on to lose the game 4-2 and crash out of the World Cup with a burning feeling of 'what if?'.

Diego Maradona's Hand of God

During the 1986 World Cup Quarter Finals, Diego Maradona stole the headlines for both the wrong and right reasons. In the 55th minute, he danced past several England players on a winding run to put Argentina two goals up. However, just four minutes before he had scored an equally jaw-dropping goal. As the ball was lifted towards the England penalty box, it was just Maradona and England keeper Peter Shilton contesting for the ball. As Shilton goes to punch clear, Maradona stretches out his arm to take the ball past the Englishman and score. Argentina went on to win the tournament, with Maradona saying he used the 'hand of god'.

Graham Poll's 3rd Yellow Card

In yet another international clanger, we cast our minds back to a 2006 World Cup Group Stage game between Australia and Croatia. Graham Poll is the referee and the game is a busy one, with Dario Simic and Brett Emerton receiving their marching orders in the second half. However, there was one more twist, as Josip Simunic was sent off in the game's final seconds after receiving his third yellow card. Cautioned for the first time in the 61st minute, Simunic was also booked on the 89th, but Poll didn't send him off. It was not until Simunic protested a disallowed goal in the 93rd minute that he was finally sent off, after being shown his third yellow card. Poll was axed from the World Cup and said the mistake was due to writing the number and not name in his book.

Jude Bellingham's 'High Foot'

Very recently, Jude Bellingham scored a disallowed goal against Manchester City in Borussia Dortmund's Champions League Quarter Final first leg. Bellingham was chasing down the City keeper Ederson, who had a heavy touch, and managed to get a toe to the ball, poke it past him, and score. The crucial away goal for Dortmund was chalked off immediately by the referee, who stopped play for a high foot from Bellingham; by blowing his whistle and making his decision so quickly, the ref prevented VAR's ability to review the incident. That incident happened with the game at 0-0, with Dortmund ending up losing the tie 2-1.

What the expert says…

Adrian Zidaritz

AI Expert

Adrian Zidaritz is an AI expert, the author of aibluedot.com. He holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley.

I believe it is not a question of whether AI referees will replace human referees but rather a question of when. AI has begun its track record of success only when it started to be based on statistical training from data, rather than trying to understand the "rules" of the game. The "rules" approach has been unsuccessful and led to what we now call the AI winter.

Some of the most disputed calls in soccer are about whether the player reached for the ball or intended to trip the opponent. If we were to collect all of the video tapes from games ever played and train the AI system based on this data set. The AI would recognize a new real-time ball/trip situation better than any human referee. Although there are many other non-technological factors to consider. Some argue that human referees and their mistakes are part of the fun. However, If we want precision and less fun, then there is no question that AI referees will replace human ones.