The device was tested by experienced individuals in match officiating as conceptual designs became a reality.
Starting with a study
A decade ago, Otto Kolbinger and Daniel Link published a study on the use of vanishing spray during the 2013/14 and 2014/15 Bundesliga seasons.
The spray was a recent addition to football at the time, and while Kolbinger and Link explored its impact in reducing rule violations, other interesting findings came to the surface.
One of those topics was around IFAB’s required ball-to-wall distance: the 10 yards (9.15 meters) that referees measure with their strides were subject to inconsistent application without a definitive measuring tool.
LAZRSpray founder Tom Beaumont went on to create a handheld laser device that is specifically for measuring this 10-yard distance.
While laser technology – also known as time-of-flight rangefinder technology – is already used in engineering industries, bringing this technology to the football field required a different stance, one that put referees at the heart of its development.
Concept to reality
Of course, elite-level referees in recent years have been no strangers to implementing new technology, some of which has consistently sparked intrigue and debate across the footballing world.
It was clear from the get-go that the LAZRSpray team wanted a device that could be seamlessly integrated into referee procedures, taking very little time out of the game and eventually becoming part of football’s furniture – much like the vanishing spray itself.
That’s when Raf Bogaerts joined the development journey. The CEO of Expo-Line has been leading vanishing spray supply to top European competitions for more than a decade.
His experience helped the device transition from early prototypes into a slick, lightweight device that could act as an extension to the spray canisters already in use.
“One of the key strengths of LAZRSpray has always been this combination of technology development and practical referee experience,” Bogaerts said in an interview for the LAZRSpray website.
“The product was not developed in isolation, but through an ongoing collaboration focused on creating something that is simple, intuitive, and genuinely useful for match officials.”
Real-world referee feedback
Vanishing spray isn’t the only string to Expo-Line’s bow. Not only is the company a long-term leader in line-marking technology, but it also founded its own Refereeing College in Belgium.
“The Referee College has supported various referee education and development activities, often in collaboration with the Royal Belgian Football Association,” added Bogaerts.
“These experiences played an important role in shaping our understanding of what referees truly need from any support tool.”
Expo-Line ambassador Frank De Bleeckere, who was an esteemed FIFA-listed referee between 1998 and 2012, has also played his part in the device’s development, as well as current Belgian Pro League, UEFA, and FIFA referee Lawrence Visser.
“The first and second attempts were like a training session, but after the third attempt it was like a normal match; it takes no more time,” Visser said while testing the LAZRSpray on the practice field.
“We put the ball in the correct position and draw the line around the ball. Then we measure the 9.15 meters by using the button on the device; we point it [the laser] at the ground and then we raise it to the ball.
“When we have the correct distance, the LAZRSpray vibrates and we can draw the line.”
Pathway to today
To recap, the LAZRSpray device has been built using data from a vanishing-spray study, experience in match-officiating technology, and feedback from the referees themselves.
Now, with the product refined and readying for the field, the LAZRSpray team is preparing for next steps while continuing to keep referees at the forefront of development.