Euro 2024: German coach Nagelsmann calls for the use of AI in handball decisions
After the European Championship exit against Spain, the German coach criticizes the assessment of controversial situations, suggests AI technology as a solution.
Musiala shoots Curucella's hand in the quarter-final between Germany and Spain. This scene and previous controversial handball decisions prompted Nagelsmann to call for AI evaluations.
(Image: UEFA / Bearbeitung heise online)
Following Germany's elimination from the European Championship quarter-finals against Spain, national coach Julian Nagelsmann has called for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to assess handball and shots on goal. In the post-match press conference, Nagelsmann criticized the current handling of handball situations and suggested using AI technology to make more precise and fairer decisions in the future.
The incident was preceded by a situation in which Spanish defender Marc Curucella's hand blocked Jamal Musiala's shot on goal in the penalty area. Despite protests, English referee Anthony Taylor allowed play to continue without having the scene reviewed by the video assistant referee. The use of the VAR had already led to discussions in the previous match.
He did not want to moan about it, but rather use the press conference stage to adapt the rules for future tournaments and matches. "I would appreciate it if we could somehow assess what happens to the ball." He does not understand why this is not possible in soccer.
"If Jamal kicks the ball into the center of Stuttgart and Cucurella touches the ball with his hand. I would never give a penalty for that. But if the ball is clearly on goal and the player stops it with his hand, [...] then it has to be a different basis for assessment," said Nagelsmann. But "there are 50 robots that bring us coffees, then there is also AI that can calculate where the cross comes down," added Nagelsmann at the press conference after the European Championship exit. He argued that the technology could help to differentiate between handball that prevents a shot on goal and those that have no influence on the game.
The national coach emphasized that the basis of assessment would have to be adapted to consider the impact of the handball on the course of the game. "If the shot is on goal, there's a penalty. If it goes into the stands, and you can see that, there's no penalty. It's relatively simple," explained Nagelsmann.
Despite his criticism of the refereeing decisions, Nagelsmann emphasized that this was not the main reason for the German team's elimination.
(vza)