FIFA's cameras, sensors, and AI systems at the 2025 World Cup have made the game more precise and less watchable. The Video Assistant Referee system, combined with automated offside detection and embedded sensor technology, has replaced human judgment with algorithmic intervention at every contested moment.
The problem is not accuracy. The problem is pace, spontaneity, and the social contract between fans and the sport. Goals are cancelled minutes after celebration. Penalty decisions arrive from server farms, not referees. The tools work as designed. That is the issue.
The original piece is worth reading for its argument about why we keep deploying automation even when it degrades the experience, and what that pattern reveals about our relationship with technology in every domain, not just football.
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