The Premier League will be introducing semi-automated offside technology this weekend, on Saturday, April 12, to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of offside decision-making in matches. Developed in collaboration with PGMOL and Genius Sports, this new system uses up to 30 high-speed cameras mounted around stadiums to track player movements and generate virtual graphics to assist in determining offside calls.
The semi-automated offside technology aims to speed up the process of making close offside calls by suggesting a “kick point” and automatically creating offside lines for the second rear-most defender and relevant attacker. The VAR will still have the final say in confirming the decision and ensuring the accuracy of the system’s output.
The introduction of this technology will not change the overall accuracy of offside decisions but will reduce decision time in close calls by approximately 30 seconds on average. The system will provide a clear and quick decision visual that will be shared with fans in the stadium and the media, featuring 3D virtual replays with color-coded lines and pulse indicators to clearly show offside and onside decisions.
While the SAOT system is expected to reduce overall delays for most offside decisions, in some cases, VAR may still need to manually review plays, particularly in instances where multiple players obstruct the view or other offenses need to be considered. Overall, the introduction of semi-automated offside technology aims to provide more efficient and consistent decision-making processes in Premier League matches.
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Photo credit www.premierleague.com
