The Premier League will introduce semi -automated offside technology for the first time on Saturday 12 April.
This comes after the non-league testing at the beginning of this season, as well as LIVE operation in the FA Cup.
Semi -automated offside technology helps officials set the virtual offside line when analyzing narrow calls with the help of playing tracking. It also produces virtual graphics for viewers in the stadium and at home.
The Premier League aimed to present technology in high flight matches after October or November international holidays this season, but those plans were delayed.
A statement from the Premier League said: “Semi -automated offside technology automates key elements of the offside decision -making process to support the video aid judge (VAR).
“It ensures the most efficient placement of the virtual offside line, using the pursuit of optical players, and generates virtual graphics to provide an extended stadium experience and transmission to fans.
“Technology preserves the integrity of the process by increasing the speed, efficiency and consistency of offside decision -making.
“The Premier League has worked in collaboration with PGMOL and the Genius Sports sports data and technology company to develop the new semi -automated offside system technology.”
Premier League matches on April 12
- Man City Vs Crystal Palace, 12.30 pm
- Brighton vs Leicester, 3 afternoon
- Nottingham Forest vs Everton, 3 afternoon
- Southampton vs Aston Villa, 3 afternoon
- Arsenal vs Brentford, 5.30 afternoon – Live in 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-acting twice the degree of frame in ordinary equipment used in broadcasting-to assist field officials and videos make better and faster decisions.
The cameras are created to ensure the most efficient placement of the virtual offside line and produce later virtual graphics to help supporters in the stadium and transmitters.
The Premier League says the computer vision cameras, powered by Genius Sports, will be installed at any Premier League stadium. These earth cameras will trace the ball as well as thousands of data points for each player.
When a key moment occurs, such as a penalty, a purpose or a red card, the technology will trace those data points to see if any offensive player involved in construction was out.
If a player receives a ball in an offside position, the technology will send an alarm to officials at the VAR center, which will then check the contact point with the ball and inform the officials on the ground.
The graphics will be made available to the transmitters as well as showing fans on large screens in the stadium.
What will be the impact of Saot?
The Premier League hopes that on average, offside decisions will be made more than 30 seconds faster.
But it warns that there may still be delays due to the “occlusion cases of the ball” (hiding from cameras between a group of players), “decisions on the edge”, or subjective decisions if an offside player was interfering with the game. This would require VAR intervention and perhaps the field judge in the latter case.
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Sky Sports News’ Kaveh Solhekol explains how the semi -automated offside will be used in the next round of the Armed Cup and when it can be presented at the Premier League.
Why has Saot not yet used in the Premier League?
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 materialized.
Talking last week, Main Football Officer of the Premier League Tony Scholes He said they have developed a different system for which they believe will be a success in the long run.
He said there had been “significant progress” made over the past four to six weeks.
“The system we have adopted, we believe it’s the best system,” he said.
“We believe it is also the most accurate and the next future system. I have to confess, given the difficulties we have had during the first months of the season, I had serious doubts about it, but the progress made over the last four weeks has been important.”
Scholes insisted that his presentation with potentially only a small part of the game to go would not create a matter of integrity.
“The functioning of semi -automated offside technology does not change the integrity of the offside law and does not change the integrity of decision -making,” he said.
“We’ve got 100 percent accuracy (in offside after VAR checks) this season, so it won’t improve accuracy. What you do is make the process more efficient.”
