With the arrival of
VAR
(Video Assistant Referee) in 2017, football is increasingly surrounded by technology that seeks to give 'justice' to the most famous sport on the planet. However, these types of tools continue to be resisted by many fans. Now it's time to include a new technology:
semi-automatic
offside
.
The
Premier League
will be the first league in the world to implement this technology, which is already used for the
Champions League
and was presented in the
Club World Cup
and the
Arab Cup
in the 2021 season. In 2022 it was used in the
World Cup in Qatar
and Argentina He suffered it in the first meeting with Saudi Arabia, three goals were disallowed.
Today at a meeting of
Premier League
shareholders and, together with all the clubs, they agreed with the implementation of this technology. The idea is to start implementing it
from next season
after the international breaks in the European autumn.
According to the
Premier League
's official website , this implementation "will produce high-quality broadcast graphics to
ensure an improved
in-stadium and broadcast experience for fans."
In addition, it will provide faster and more consistent placement of the virtual offside line, based on the player's optical tracking. "This technology is the culmination of
three years of research and testing
to offer the best to the teams, players and fans who come to Qatar," FIFA president
Gianni Infantino
had said in advance of the last
World Cup
.
For this to work, cameras are installed on the roof of the stadiums to track the ball and will place data points for each player to plot their position on the field. The information locates the location of each player on a map and creates an image of
a possible
offside
.
OFFICIAL. All 20 Premier League clubs have agreed to introduce semi-automated offside technology for next season. [Premier League] pic.twitter.com/p2e0wk8OIz
— England Soccer (@Mercado_Ingles) April 11, 2024
The Premier possibly uses the same system and software that
UEFA
uses for the
Champions League
. In comparison to the system used by FIFA in the World Cup in Qatar, the ball does not have a
chip
that shows the moments where it is hit.
The decision was unanimous because all clubs, and fans, consider that they have been harmed by the way
VAR
is used to determine whether or not a player is in an incorrect position on the field of play.
Once again, English football is taking a step forward towards the inclusion of technology in the day-to-day life of football. In 2013 they had been one of the first leagues to implement the
Automatic Goal Detection System
(DAG) technology, a clock that tells the referee whether the ball went in or not.