Exclusive: Hackett ‘delighted’ with what he’s heard about Aston Villa v Cardiff
Aston Villa host Cardiff City in the fifth round of the FA Cup on what will be a historic moment in the English game on Friday night.
After beating West Ham and Tottenham, Unai Emery’s side will be trying to continue their march towards Wembley with what – on paper – will be their easiest game of the competition this season against Championship opposition.
Cardiff, who are battling against relegation to League One this season, have dispatched of Sheffield United and Stoke to get to this history-making moment of the 2024/25 FA Cup.
Aston Villa v Cardiff to feature new referee technology
In the FA Cup matches this weekend, for the first time in English football, semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) will be used.
Due to them playing on Friday night (28 February), Villa Park will be the first stadium in England to use the tech when they face Cardiff.
Former PGMOL general manager Keith Hackett is thrilled to see the introduction of SAOT after previously playing a role in the incorporation of the successful goal-line technology.
“After it was promised earlier in the season, I’m delighted that the Genesis Sports version of the semi-automated offside system is at last coming into operation,” Hackett told Villa News.
| 24/25 Premier League stats as of 4 February | |
| VAR interventions | 70 |
| Missed interventions | 9 |
| Incorrect interventions | 4 |
| Accuracy of ‘Key Match Incidents’ | 96.4% |
“Up to date, when making offside judgments on the position of the players, match officials have had to rely on broadcast speed cameras which operate at 25 frames per second. This fails to give the accuracy required.
“When I was involved in the development of goal-line technology, we had to place seven cameras around each goal, operating at 500 frames per second.
“The Genius System, unlike the system operated by UEFA, will have its own Apple high-speed cameras installed in the stadium.
“The use of AI will ensure the information delivered to Stockley Park is accurate and at speed.
“The system determines the position of the potentially offside player. However, the officials have still to determine if the offside player has committed an offence.”
Aston Villa have eyes on the prize in FA Cup
Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham have all been knocked out of the FA Cup so far this season.
Out of the remaining 16 teams in the competition, only seven of them are in the top half of the Premier League and that’ll be down to at most six in the quarter-finals as Newcastle and Brighton are playing each other on Sunday (2 March).
Villa have already knocked out Spurs and West Ham to get this far so there’s no doubt that Emery and his squad will think this year is a massive opportunity for the Villans to win the FA Cup for the first time since 1957.