The Premier League has announced that from next season, AI-based player tracking technology will be used to make offside calls during matches. This move is expected to reduce the time it takes for officials to reach their decisions and improve the accuracy of the calls.
The decision to introduce semi-automated offside technology was reached unanimously by England’s top-division clubs, with the new system set to be launched in the first half of the season. According to the league, the technology will provide a quicker and more consistent placement of the virtual offside line based on optical player tracking. It will also enhance the in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters by producing high-quality graphics.
Extensive testing and analysis have been conducted this season to ensure the technology’s effectiveness. Italy’s Serie A already uses semi-automated offside technology, where cameras track player movements and record data points on relevant parts of the body to make offside decisions. The integration of artificial intelligence processes this data to create a 3D offside line. It is estimated that the new technology will reduce the time taken by VAR officials to reach a decision manually by an average of around 30 seconds. This will help to improve confidence in decision-making following some high-profile mistakes. Despite the new technology, the manual system will still be available as a backup in case there is a failure of the semi-automated technology.
