The Premier League will introduce semi-automated offside technology for the first time on Saturday April 12.
This comes after non-live testing in the league earlier this season, as well as live operation in the FA Cup.
The semi-automated offside technology helps officials place the virtual offside line when analysing tight calls, with the help of player tracking. It also produces virtual graphics for viewers in the stadium and at home.
The Premier League had intended to introduce the technology into top-flight matches after the October or November international breaks this season but those plans were delayed.
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Sky Sports’ Kaveh Solhekol explains that if this weekend’s FA Cup fixtures go successfully with the use of semi-automated offsides, then it could be introduced into the Premier League by Easter.
A statement from the Premier League said: “Semi-automated offside technology automates key elements of the offside decision-making process to support the video assistant referee (VAR).
“It provides more efficient placement of the virtual offside line, using optical player tracking, and generates virtual graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for fans.
“The technology maintains the integrity of the process while enhancing the speed, efficiency, and consistency of offside decision-making.
“The Premier League has worked in collaboration with PGMOL and sports data and technology company Genius Sports to develop the new semi-automated offside technology system.”
Premier League matches on April 12
- Man City vs Crystal Palace, 12.30pm
- Brighton vs Leicester, 3pm
- Nottingham Forest vs Everton, 3pm
- Southampton vs Aston Villa, 3pm
- Arsenal vs Brentford, 5.30pm – Live on Sky Sports
What is semi-automated offside technology and how does it work?
Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) will use up to 30 tracking cameras – operating at twice the frame-rate to usual devices used in broadcast – to help the on-field and video match officials make better and faster offside decisions.
The cameras are designed to provide more efficient placement of the virtual offside line and produce subsequent virtual graphics to help supporters in the stadium and broadcasters.
The Premier League says that computer vision cameras, powered by Genius Sports, will be installed in every Premier League stadium. These cameras around the ground will track the ball, as well as thousands of data points for each player.
When a key moment occurs, such as a penalty, a goal or a red card, the technology will track those data points to see if any attacking player involved in the build-up was offside.
If a player receives a ball in an offside position, the technology will send an alert to the officials in the VAR hub, who will then check the point of contact with the ball and inform the on-field officials.
Graphics will be made available to broadcasters, as well as being shown to fans on big screens in the stadium.
What will the impact of SAOT be?
The Premier League hopes that, on average, offside decisions will be made more than 30 seconds faster.
But it warns there could still be delays due to “occasions of occlusion of the ball” (it being hidden from the cameras among a group of players), “edge decisions,” or subjective decisions of whether an offside player was interfering with play. That would require intervention from the VAR and possibly the on-field referee in the latter instance.
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Sky Sports News’ Kaveh Solhekol explains how semi-automated offside will be used in the next round of the FA Cup and when it might be introduced to the Premier League.
Why hasn’t SAOT been used in the Premier League yet?
Semi-automated offside technology is not new to football – a version of it was used during the 2022 World Cup – but a planned autumn 2024 introduction to the Premier League never materialised.
Speaking last week, Premier League chief football officer Tony Scholes said they have been developing a different system which they believe will be a success in the long term.
He said there had been “significant progress” made over the last four to six weeks.
“The system that we’ve adopted, we believe it to be the best system,” he said.
“We believe it to be the most accurate and the most future-proof system as well. I have to confess, given the difficulties that we had over the first few months of the season, I had severe doubts about this but the progress made over the last four to six weeks has been significant.”
Scholes insisted that introducing it with potentially only a handful of games to go would not create an integrity issue.
“The operation of semi-automated offside technology does not change the integrity of the offside law and doesn’t change the integrity of decision-making,” he said.
“We have got 100 per cent accuracy [on offside after VAR checks] this season, so it won’t improve the accuracy. What it does is make the process more efficient.”
