UEFA Euro 2024: UEFA uses new technology to determine handballs during ongoing matches

Slovakia gave the first upset of the UEFA Euro 2024 as they defeated Belgium in their opening game of the tournament. Kevin De Bryune's side trailed in the very first quarter of the game as they conceded in 7 minutes of the game. Domenico Tedesco's side tried their best to score but somewhere luck did not favour them as all the goals they scored were ruled out due to various reasons. 

Romelu Lukaku who missed a lot of golden opportunities on the night, scored two goals but he was unlucky on both occasions as his first in the 55th minute, he tapped the ball into an empty nett after a corner kick by Belgium. However, the goal was ruled out as replays showed that Lukaku was simply offside while Amadou Onana headed the ball towards the Inter Milan striker.

The second goal was disallowed due to a handball in the buildup. Substitute Lois Openda thought he had set up the Red Devils' equaliser, but the RB Leipzig player touched the ball before passing to Lukaku. During the VAR check, a new technology was used to check the hand ball the referee used the newly introduced ‘snicko’ technology to identify a handball by Openda in the build-up to the goal.

New handball technology in UEFA Euro 2024

As the ball has microchips inside it there are sensors inside, which can determine the precise moment contact was made with the ball. It represents this contact as a 'heartbeat', which corresponds to what the camera angles reveal. The method used by cricket fans will show the precise moment when a ball is touched. "Connected ball" technology will include a motion-sensing microchip in Adidas match balls that can track every touch at a rate of 500 times per second.

This is the first time the technology has been used in a major tournament, however, there has been a controversy over the handball because the ball touched the winger's hand unintentionally while he was screening off a defender to get the ball, during the attack. There will be a lot of questions on the refereeing about the decision and if the goal stood it could have changed the complexion of the match.