Premier League says it may introduce semi-automated offside tech before season ends

The Premier League could introduce semi-automated offside technology before the end of the 2024-25 season following “significant” progress in testing, said Chief Football Officer Tony Scholes.

Last year, Premier League clubs unanimously agreed to introduce the technology at a shareholders’ meeting. It was expected to be implemented before Christmas but met with problems in testing.

“The progress made over the last four to six weeks has been significant. So, we believe we’re going to be adopting the best system and the most accurate system,” Scholes told British media on Tuesday.

“The EFL has introduced it into the League Cup this year. We will monitor it… Clearly, if we’re not confident until the last two or three match rounds, I think you then arrive at a pragmatic place where you just say, it wouldn’t make sense to introduce it now.

“But if we’re able to introduce it in advance of that, then it’s something that we’re actively considering.”

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Semi-automated offside technology has been in use in major tournaments and helps limit the need for long waits for VAR reviews, where match officials manually check if a player is offside or not, while also reducing the margin for error.

The Premier League currently has VAR officials check offsides but the system has faced criticism for the time taken to come to a decision.