The Look that Decides the Game

Swiss referees Christian Friemel and Erik Hasselberg took on the experiment, officiating an entire international match – Czech Republic vs. Sweden – equipped with technology that holds great promise in sports but has rarely been tested under real game conditions. 

“I’ve never officiated with glasses like these,” Erik Hasselberg told Swiss broadcaster SRF prior to the match, visibly curious about how it would feel. At first, the technology required some adjustment. Established routines had to be reassessed, head movement modified, and peripheral vision – the information perceived outside the direct line of sight – adapted. But after a short adaptation phase, the technology became second nature, and the game unfolded as usual. 

Meanwhile, the glasses recorded in real time where the referees focused in each situation, where their attention waned, and how they divided decision zones between them. 

Source: Swiss Radio and Television SRF

The technology behind this is both precise and intuitive. Two eye-facing cameras track the gaze of each eye. The point where both visual axes intersect – imagine two converging laser beams – marks the wearer’s exact focus point. 

“The glasses calculate where I’m looking in real time, which means my attention is right there,” explained Nils Berger, founder and CEO of Viewpointsystem, to the media attending the live test.  
The data is transmitted in real time and then analyzed in depth. For coaching teams and referee development programs, this opens up entirely new analytical possibilities: 
– How quickly do referees pick up dynamic game situations? 
– What is overlooked, and when? 
– How does visual attention shift under pressure? 

With these insights, routines can be refined, decision errors reduced, and training sessions more precisely aligned with the dynamics of perception and decision-making. 

After the match, referee director Thomas Erhard highlighted the value of this perspective, not only for performance evaluation but also for making the profession more attractive. 

The technology allows us to authentically show what it is really like to officiate a game. It opens new opportunities for education, recruitment, and engaging partners or sponsors through a firsthand experience of game leadership. 

“We’re not suddenly going to have better referees because of these glasses,” Erhard told SRF. “It will take time. But the momentum is there – and the potential is significant.” 

This real-world test has shown just how powerful eye tracking can be in sharpening focus – quite literally. The live data reveals insights that were previously unattainable, enabling a deeper and more objective analysis of perception, attention, and decision-making in the game. 

For referees, coaches, and federations, this represents an important step – from relying on intuition to leveraging reliable visual data. And for us at Viewpointsystem, it is further confirmation of how impactful eye tracking can be in improving perception under high-pressure conditions. 

🎬 Swiss broadcaster SRF reported on the test – watch their feature here!