Premier League finally set to bring in semi-automated offside technology next season

 · April 11 2024, 16:59
Premier League finally set to bring in semi-automated offside technology next season
Sky Sports
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It was absolutely baffling when it was announced that the Premier League would not be employing the semi-automated offside technology system this season.

The technology was used in the World Cup in Qatar and it worked brilliantly. It's much quicker than VAR and removes the need for someone at Stockley Park to draw huge lines on a blurry image, instead a 3D image is rendered which shows exactly how much of the player is actually offside and by how much.

Over the years, VAR has robbed Newcastle of points through poor offside decisions using the VAR system. Alexander Isak should have had a brace against Liverpool but the lack of fidelity on the VAR images ruled it out.

A similar occasion saw Callum Wilson have a goal ruled out for having on size 27 boot according to the blurry imaged VAR used.

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Offside decisions will be 31 seconds quicker on average

Trials of the system have already shown that an offside call will take, on average 31 seconds less than the current VAR system, which has seen calls take four or five minutes in the past and still not have a real, clear decision.

The use of the technology was voted through unanimously at the Premier League shareholders' meeting on Thursday.

It's expected that it will be implemented by the autumn which means it won't be in use at the start of the season, but we shouldn't have to wait too long for it to be up and running.

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The Premier League decided to hold off introducing the tech this season

The Premier League decided last year to hold off introducing the technology, despite its successful application at the 2022 World Cup, claiming that it was a huge expense and the technology was moving so fast that they'd just get the system installed and then have to replace it.

We're not sure how much of that is actually true, we suspect they just like the idea of messing with the outcome of games too much that they didn't want to lose that control.

Tinfoil hats all round!

In all seriousness, this is a positive move that should see the game flow better and also reduce the amount of disgruntled fans after a game. Although there'll still be plenty of other calls for VAR to get wrong, so there'll still be plenty to wind us fans up.

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