Digital Evolution and Information Systems to Support 39 Decision-Making Processes in Sport

In recent years, sports and technology have become increasingly interlinked. In the football officiating field, the numerous incidents of misjudged decisions is the main reason for the introduction of a number of technologies (FIFA, 2018), among which the video assistance referee (VAR) is one of the most important, having made a remarkable contribution to improving the fairness of football games (Bao and Han, 2023). VAR was officially introduced into football competitions in 2018 (FIFA, 2018b). The issue of using technology as a support in decision-making has become a compelling topic for many researchers in organizational studies (Ali et al., 2017). Using a case study, the purpose of this chapter is to analyse the state of the art of VAR deployment in the football system in the Italian Serie A. To do so, this chapter consists of two sections: a systematic review of the relevant literature, which seeks to assess how scholars have addressed the contribution that VAR technology can make in supporting sporting decisions in football matches; and a qualitative study of Serie A football in Italy, in which the case study shows the potential benefits of VAR, but also barriers and restrictions to its use.