Video replay enhancing image of handball, analysis finds

The analysis was completed by George Bebetsos of EHF Officiating, EHF VR analyst Diogo Goncalves and EHF VR manager Joao Capela.

“We believe this analysis will serve as a valuable resource for fostering continued improvement in the use of VR and ensuring the highest standards of fairness, consistency, and integrity in our competitions,” said Bebetsos.

The trio examined specific areas such as decision accuracy, timing and efficiency, and key incidents, as well as obtaining tournament-level insights, looking at VR’s impact on tournament dynamics, identifying trends and patterns, and evaluating referee performance. Even more broadly, comparative insights brought together the 2024 insights with previous EHF EURO events, enabling understanding of areas of both consistency and improvement across multiple tournaments.

The examination of decision accuracy looked at how the VR influenced decision-making and improved fairness across the 65 matches played to decide the European title. Key areas investigated included fouls, illegal substitutions, ball-in-play controversies, goal validations and disciplinary actions.

The analysis of timing and efficiency delved into the duration of reviews and the resulting impact on match flow. It is important that the VR does not excessively disrupt game play and the EHF Officiating are eager to reduce stoppage times where possible. 

Based on the analysis, conclusions and recommendations have been created — a series of practical steps for refining the protocols and leveraging the technology for even greater success at upcoming tournaments.

VR used regularly throughout

Over half of the EHF EURO matches had at least one video review. In total, there were 48 video reviews in 35 games, including 22 preliminary round matches, 12 main round games, and one semi-final.

Eight games had two video reviews, and two — the Faroe Islands vs Denmark, and Denmark vs Switzerland, both in the preliminary round — had three.

The percentage of Women’s EHF EURO 2024 games where VR was used was similar to the Men’s EHF EURO 2024 in the preliminary and main round, but every game in the final round of the men’s tournament had at least one video review.

At the Women’s EHF EURO, penalisation was the most common incident for a VR, accounting for 54 per cent of reviews; VR was used to check goal/no goal 19 times (40 per cent of reviews). There were two VRs for faulty substitutions, and one for buzzer misuse.

Again, the use of VR at the women’s tournament was very similar to the men’s in terms of the incidents checked.

The average duration of a VR was one minute and 46 seconds, decreasing slightly through the tournament. Penalisation incidents took longer for referees to decide than other incidents, with goal/no goal situations the fastest to check.

However, most of the time spent on a VR is taken up by the referees signalling they want to carry out a review and walking to and from the screen. The referees took only 42 seconds, on average, to view footage and come to a conclusion.

The report considered that only three incidents (6 per cent of VRs) were incorrectly interpreted by referees: 7 per cent of preliminary round VRs, 6 per cent of main round VRs, and neither of the two in the final weekend.

Growth in VR use

VR has now been used for four Men’s EHF EURO tournaments, and three women’s. The analysis found there was an overall tendency to have more VRs during games, which, the report’s authors said, “should lead to more confident referees and greater acceptance among players, coaches, and fans of the overall correctness of referee decisions”.

The analysis revealed that the average duration of a VR has decreased over the years, which the report called “an outstanding improvement, considering that these statistics represent more accurate decisions while taking less time to make these decisions”.

In its key takeaways, the report said more practical training would enhance VR official, referee and VR assistant training and teaching.

The authors concluded: “The current standards encourage referees to employ video replay more frequently, as the use of technology enhances trust among officials, players, and fans, as well as the image of handball.”

all photos © 2024 kolektiff images | Anze Malovrh, Jozo Cabraja, Eva Manhart