| Automated and Intelligent Refereeing in Different Sports: A Systematic Review |
| Paper ID : 1078-SPORTCONGRESS |
| Authors |
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saba artik * Sports Management, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Shahid Madani University of Azerbaijan, Tabriz, Iran |
| Abstract |
| Introduction: Refereeing is one of the fundamental pillars of professional sports, ensuring fairness, transparency, and public trust in competition outcomes. However, human limitations such as fatigue, cognitive bias, and visual errors can affect the accuracy and consistency of referees’ decisions. Recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Computer Vision (CV), and sensor technologies have paved the way for the development of automated and intelligent officiating systems across various sports disciplines. This systematic review aimed to examine emerging officiating technologies, their applications in different sports, and the related benefits and challenges. Methods: This study was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. Articles were retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, and Google Scholar databases covering the years 2000 to 2024. After screening, a total of 68 eligible studies were selected and critically appraised using the CASP checklist. Data were extracted through content analysis and categorized based on the type of sport, applied technology, and key findings. Results: The review revealed that computer vision systems such as Hawk-Eye in tennis and cricket, and VAR in football, achieved decision-making accuracies ranging from 92% to 99%, reducing human error rates by 20–30%. In combat sports such as taekwondo, pressure and RFID sensors improved scoring accuracy to 90–95%. In individual sports like gymnastics, pose estimation algorithms enhanced judging fairness. Deep learning models (CNN, RNN) in team sports also demonstrated over 90% accuracy in foul and offside detection. Moreover, hybrid systems integrating video, GPS, and sensor data increased refereeing accuracy by approximately 5–7% compared to the use of any single technology. Conclusion: Overall, the evidence indicates that intelligent officiating systems can significantly improve fairness and transparency in sports. However, challenges such as high implementation costs, lack of international standardization, ethical dilemmas, and privacy concerns persist. Future directions should focus on developing more transparent algorithms, reducing implementation costs, and establishing ethical and legal frameworks to promote global adoption. |
| Keywords |
| Intelligent refereeing, Artificial intelligence, Computer vision, Professional sports, Automated refereeing systems. |
| Status: Abstract Accepted (Poster Presentation) |
