April 12 – The Premier League will introduce semi-automated offside technology next season to speed up decision-making after clubs unanimously agreed on the move at a shareholders’ meeting.
The technology has been in use in major tournaments and helps limit the need for long waits for VAR reviews, where match officials manually check if a player is offside or not, while also reducing the margins for error.
“The new system will be used for the first time in the Premier League next season, and it is anticipated the technology will be ready to be introduced after one of the autumn international breaks,” the league said in a statement.
“The technology will provide quicker and consistent placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking, and will produce high-quality broadcast graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters.”
England’s top-division clubs reached a unanimous decision to use the system that was employed at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. For that tournament, there was a sensor in the ball to track its acceleration but that won’t be the case in the Premier League, which looks set to be more aligned with the system used by UEFA in the Champions League.
Semi-automated offside technology is already in use in Italy’s Serie A.
It is expected to take an average of around 30 seconds off the length of time it currently takes VAR officials to come to a decision manually, and improve confidence in decision-making after several game-changing high-profile mistakes.
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