The Premier League on Thursday stated that it will start using Semi-Automated Offside Technology next season.
It however said it will not be ready for the start of the campaign.
This came came as the Premier League clubs voted unanimously for the introduction of the semi-offside technology at a shareholders’ meeting.
This will impact how offside calls are made moving forward in the English top division.
However, it will come into effect after one of the international breaks, meaning it will be introduced as early as September or as late as November.
The top-flight teams have agreed to use the technology, with the hope that it will facilitate the process of making these decisions.
SOAT is already used in the UEFA Champions League and Serie A and it has largely been a success where it has been deployed, including both the men’s and women’s World Cups in the past few years. Results are usually very quick.
“At a Premier League Shareholders’ meeting today, clubs unanimously agreed to the introduction of Semi-Automated Offside Technology,” said a Premier League statement.
“The new system will be used for the first time in the Premier League next season, and it is anticipated the technology will be ready to be introduced after one of the Autumn international breaks.
“The technology will provide quicker and consistent placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking, and will produce high-quality broadcast graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters,” a Premier League statement read.
The technology has been used to decide what have been described as “match defining moments,” such as goals or incidents leading to a red card or penalty, while assistant referees will continue to raise their flags.
Meanwhile, it was learnt that the Premier League has not announced which kind of system it will use, as some involve chips inside footballs and others simply use a number of cameras around the stadium.
The introduction of SOAT is the first big technological advance in the Premier League since VAR was brought in at the start of the 2019-20 season.
Premier League clubs have clamouring for it introduction over the years, most notably in September when Professional Game Match Officials Limited admitted “significant human error” had led to Liverpool’s Luiz Diaz having a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside at Tottenham.
