Premier League to use semi-automated offside in hope of speeding up VAR calls

System expected to be ready during autumn of next season.

Semi-automated offside in use during Ecuador’s game against Qatar at the 2022 World Cup. Photograph: Fifa

The Premier League is to introduce semi-automated offside technology from next season, in the hope of reducing the time it takes to make VAR decisions.

The system will use camera footage and tracking software to calculate the position of players at the moment of a potential offside, replacing the need for VAR teams to do so. In trials, this process has been shown to reduce the average length of a VAR decision by 31 seconds.