Premier League postpones deployment of semi-automated offside system

Premier League has postponed the introduction of the Semi-automated Offside Technology (SAOT) until 2025.

The deployment of SAOT will now be put on hold despite a consensual agreement from the 20 participating teams in April.

According to Sky Sports, the English FA intends to conduct comprehensive testing of the technology before launching, with the aim to identify and resolve any potential issues.

The technology is currently operational in the UEFA Champions League and Italian Serie A, which utilizes a network of cameras to track players’ movements and the ball at high speeds.

It will be used to track faster and more accurate offside calls, thereby reducing decision times by 31 seconds, and is expected to eradicate the need for manual line drawing used in Video Assistant Referee (VAR), replacing it with 3D offside lines on stadium screens.

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SAOT will aid referees in making swift decisions and improve spectators’ visibility with the provision of a clearer view of the offside decision.

Despite VAR’s introduction, the Premier League has faced numerous controversies over the years, however, SAOT’s implementation aims to minimise these controversies.