Khaberni - A scandal broke out at Russian club Sochi after former officials revealed the utilization of artificial intelligence techniques by the team's former coach, Spaniard Robert Moreno, in preparing the starting lineup, a situation that sparked widespread controversy within the Russian sports community.
The account Ataque Futbolero on X relayed statements made by former club general manager Andrei Orlov, explaining that Moreno relied on the ChatGPT program for selecting players, including removing some players from the lineup and imposing strange practices on the team, such as forbidding players to sleep for 28 hours before a specific match or waking them up very early at 5 AM, which Orlov considered "illogical decisions and a violation of the simplest rules of professional training".
Orlov added that Moreno also used artificial intelligence to select a new striker with the number 9 based on the program’s algorithmic recommendations, but this player failed to score any goals during ten consecutive matches, which led to the previous management questioning Moreno's training methods and his excessive reliance on technology over human expertise.
Moreno was dismissed from his position in September after a series of poor results, which included 14 consecutive matches without a win and a victory rate that did not exceed 35%, highlighting the technical crisis the club experienced during that period.
The case elicited a large wave of criticism regarding the use of artificial intelligence technologies in football, especially when they are fully depended upon in crucial decisions such as team formation and player management, prompting football experts to emphasize the necessity of integrating technology with human technical expertise and not replacing it.
