Strange scene at the European Championships: A defender stumbles into his own goal and is swallowed up by the advertising boards. What’s behind it?
Advertising boards have become an integral part of modern professional football. Some players have already learned this the hard way, like France’s Antoine Griezmann recently. In the preliminary round match against Austria in the European Championship, the 33-year-old crashed into the boards and suffered a laceration. A Slovakian player also collided with an advertising banner at this European Championship – albeit only virtually.
The 21st minute of the European Championship group match between Slovakia and Belgium had just begun when Belgium’s Leandro Trossard took a shot from the half-left position. Keeper Martin Dubravka had come out to clear another situation – the Slovakian goal behind him was empty. But captain and defensive leader Milan Škriniar rushed to his goalkeeper’s aid. While Trossard’s shot clearly missed the target, .
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The advertising board, on which a German discounter was advertising its fresh food at that moment, swallowed up the Slovakian captain. A few seconds later, Škriniar reappeared, freed himself from the net and returned to the game as if nothing had happened. An error in the matrix? Hardly.
“FIFA bug in real life” is how Sportschau described the incident in a report. And the scene is indeed reminiscent of a graphic error in the EA Sports video game. But what is really behind it?
Several million viewers watch the European Championship games on television, but not everyone gets the same picture. The tournament uses technology that allows advertising boards to be adapted to suit the country or region. “You see something different in the stadium than the TV viewers,” a spokesman for the European Football Union UEFA told the German Press Agency.
DFL has been using the technology for some time
The image of the stadium boards is digitally superimposed and individually adjusted – all of this is done using software. The Bundesliga has been using virtual advertising since the 2018/2019 season. According to the DFL, this enables clubs to market themselves better abroad. At the European Championships, UEFA is using a “Virtual Board Replacement” version that is tailored to the German market. It remains to be seen whether more players will disappear at the European Championships.
Sources: , , , with DPA
Source: Stern
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