Continuous Fuzzy Evaluation Methods: A Novel Tool for the Analysis and Decision Making in Football (or Soccer) Matches

Abstract

This book presents a proposal for a new soft computing innovative method called by “CFE” for evaluation of the football matches of FIFA (IFAB) and UEFA/EFL to compute the true ‘Winner’. It is a research work in the area of ‘Football Science’, being proposed to FIFA (IFAB) and UEFA/EFL for consideration to replace the existing obsolete and weak rules of football matches of 90 min to declare the final ‘Winner’. In CFE, the final decision about any football match of 90 min is obtained “by computation”, by execution of a software called by ‘CFE-software’ with the real time input values directly from the field on a number of highly significant parameters, some of them being continuous variables. The result of m-n goals at the end of 90 min play in a football match is just one of the many parameters for the computation of the ‘Winner’ in our proposed CFE method. The evaluation is mainly based upon the application of Fuzzy Logic, ‘Fuzzy Pocket Machine’, fast Computer Server, good Communication system from playing-field to the server (as used in Cricket matches) and the CFE-software at the server. The Referees need not be experts in fuzzy set theory; they can be easily trained within just 30 min of demonstration on: how to use the ‘fuzzy pocket machine’ for giving real time inputs to the database at the server. The existing method of FIFA/UEFA/EFL chooses the ‘Winner’ team directly on the basis of one and only one parameter which is the ‘m–n goal score’ at the end of 90 min of play, ignoring many other important and significant continuous parameters of the 90 min duration since the start of the game. The existing method has no scope to compute the ‘better’ team because of its obsolete and weak rules, because of non-availability of any excellent way in the existing rules of FIFA (IFAB) and UEFA/EFL. Our proposed method CFE does not focus at declaring the ‘Winner’ directly, but at finding the actually ‘BETTER’ team by continuous evaluation and by computation of all the real time data/information available from the field since the start of the 90 min game. Consequently, at the end of 90 min of play the CFE-software is executed to compute the ‘better’ team first of all, and then the ‘better team’ is finally declared to be the ‘Winner’ of the game, the philosophy which does not have any open or hidden chance to yield any amount of frustration to the football fans, to both the teams and their supporters, and in particular to the looser team and its supporters, as the proposed CFE method is very much sound, highly scientifical and technical, complete and logical. The abbreviation CFE stands for ‘Continuous Fuzzy Evaluation’ because CFE is basically a Fuzzy constructive method by which ‘CS-Score’ of each team is computed. It is called ‘continuous’ because of the reason that mathematically the ‘CS-score’ is a function of several variables, and for each team the corresponding ‘CS-Score’ varies continuously at every second, some of the parameters of this function being continuous variables of time. This proposed fuzzy method can easily extract the true dominant team out of the two teams, executing the ‘CFE-software’ for which there will be continuous real time inputs in a database directly from the fields and from the Referee where some of the inputs are given by the Referee using his ‘fuzzy pocket machine’ M. The ‘fuzzy pocket machine’ M is an electronic wireless machine (looking like a mobile phone) having its own memory and keeps backup of all the data whatever be communicated by the Referee to the database for the CFE-software at the server. Besides this physical machine, the introduction of a physical structure called by ‘Goal-Area Post’ fixed just outside the goal-line at each of the two ends is a new idea which help to provide a good kind of input to the database at the server. It is claimed that if FIFA (IFAB) implements this method of CFE in World Cup Football matches, it will be a true justice to the football world, to the fans, to the players, to both the teams and their supporters (in particular to the looser team and its supporters) and consequently it will give enormous justice to the ‘football’. The CFE method, if implemented by FIFA (IFAB) and UEFA/EFL replacing the existing football rules, can improve the football by a huge momentum as a game and as a subject, can do huge justice to the football fans and organizers and all concerned staff, and in particular to the looser team. The FIFA (IFAB) and UEFA/EFL can well employ the proposed machine “Robot Referee” to replace the human referee in football matches for continuous evaluation with very high precisions, the huge advantages of which are justified and explained in length. With the very rich and advanced theories of Science and Technology available in the literature in the present century, the cognition system of the machine “Robot Referee” can be well equipped with enormous amount of artificial intelligence and knowledge as per football norms and theories. One of the major advantages of using the highly intelligent “Robot Referee” in football matches is that its amount of intelligence and knowledge, its thinking capability and speed, its speed of physical movement on the field, etc. can be enhanced as much as required by FIFA (IFAB) and UEFA/EFL time to time, say once every ten years, with the further development of new technologies. The Theory of CFE does not change the rules of football game (except during the very rare case of CPS Play, if any), but it introduces a major changes and improvements in the evaluation method and in the method of arriving at the final decision.