Videoarbitraje y fútbol. Narrativas en el poder de la tecnología al servicio del espectáculo

Sergio Cobo Durán; Joaquín Marín Montín

doi:10.31921/doxacom.n42a2776

Authors

Sergio Cobo Durán University of Seville https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0374-6601
Joaquín Marín Montín University of Seville https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7869-4469

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31921/doxacom.n42a2776

Keywords:

Audio-visual production, video assistant referee (VAR), narrative, football, technology

Abstract

Nowadays, top professional sports use audio-visual tools to speed up referee decision-making, thereby modifying the regulatory development of various sporting domains (Benítez, 2019). Despite its popularity, football was one of the last sports to implement video replay as part of the regulations of its main competitive events. This article analyses the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in football, with a particular focus on Spain. The study also examines how VAR modifies the narrative of live broadcasts. To carry out the research, the authors have selected certain VAR situations from the 2023-24 LaLiga football season, which are available on the YouTube channels of LaLiga, DAZN, and Movistar. Based on the recordings chosen, it is possible to evaluate the way in which television reflects VAR situations in terms of form, aesthetics, and narration.

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Author Biographies

Sergio Cobo Durán, University of Seville

Senior lecturer in the Department of Audio-visual Communication and Advertising at the University of Seville. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Audio-visual Communication and a PhD in Communication, which received a qualification of Summa Cum Laude by unanimous decision. The subjects he imparts include Audio-visual Scriptwriting, the History of Spanish Cinema, and the Theory and History of Documentaries and Advertising. He has participated on various R+D+i projects, and is currently with another endeavour entitled, New Narratives, Screens, and Social Realities in Spanish Cinema from 2011-2022. Professor Cobo Durán has given speeches at national and international conferences and congresses, and he has undertaken research stays and imparted seminars on Spanish cinema at the Universidad Austral (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Universidad de la República (Montevideo, Uruguay), and Aichi Prefectural University (Nagakute, Japón), among others. He is a member of the research group entitled, Liga de Investigación en Comunicación y Cultura. Género(S), Narrativa, Ideología y Estudios Visuales [Research association of communication and culture, gender/s, narrative, ideology, and visual studies] (LIGAINCOM-SEJ694). His main lines of research are audio-visual narratives, screenwriting, alternative cinema in Spain, contemporary fiction, and the study of documentaries and non-fiction.
Joaquín Marín Montín, University of Seville

Senior lecturer in the Department of Audio-visual Communication and Advertising at the University of Seville. PhD in Audio-visual Communication and a BA in the same discipline. He was a pre-doctoral fellow on the Intercampus Programme of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (Brazil), and later participated in the Socrates-Erasmus Programme for Third Cycle Studies at Aarhus Universitet (Denmark). He has completed post-doctoral stays at the Centre for Olympic Studies (UAB) and the Universidade Feevale (Brazil). Professor Marín-Montín is a member of the research team, Image and Visual Culture in the Field of Audio-visual Communication (EIKON). He teaches on the Bachelor’s Degree in Audio-visual Communication, the dual Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Audio-visual Communication, and on the Master’s Degree in Screenwriting, Narratives, and Audio-visual Creativity. His main lines of research are audio-visual content and the relationship between communication and sport. He has published several articles in the following scientific journals: Communication & Sport; International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship; adComunica; Revista científica de estrategias, tendencias e innovación en comunicación; L’Atalante; and index.comunicación. He has also authored several book chapters issued by renowned publishers such as Routledge, Peter Lang, and IGI Global.

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