The Premier League is reportedly set to introduce semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) before the end of this (2024/25) season, alongside wanting to see referees explaining VAR decisions to the crowd inside the stadium.
Sky Sports News confirmed that fans will most likely see some games in the Premier League experience the semi-automated offside rules for top-flight matches by the start of next season.
This decision was taken after the Premier League revealed a six-point plan to improve VAR, as it strives to make the system more accurate, faster, and more transparent for fans. However, after delays in testing the technology, the Premier League says it will wait until next season if it is not entirely convinced it is reliable, or if it gets too close to the end of this season.
The Premier League’s chief football officer, Tony Scholes has admitted he was worried about the reliability of the technology for semi-automated offsides for a long time up until a breakthrough just before Christmas.
“I have to confess, given the difficulties that we had over the first few months of the season [with SAOT testing] I had severe doubts about this. But 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 without the need for the chip in the ball. The EFL has introduced it into the Carabao Cup this year. We will monitor it. But the operation of semi-automated offside technology does not change the integrity of the offside law. What it does is make the process more efficient. 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.”
He also went on to say that the duration of VAR interventions has reduced significantly this season compared with previously. The average VAR check now takes 40 seconds, whereas last season it was one minute and six seconds.
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