PL to debut semi-automated technology this season

The Premier League will start using its semi-automated VAR offside technology (SAOT) as of Matchweek 32 on the weekend of April 12-14.

It will come almost exactly a year to the day since clubs unanimously voted to bring in the technology on April 11 last season.

SAOT was due to be introduced after one of the international breaks in 2024, but a series of delays in testing meant the technology was not ready to be used in games.

In February, Tony Scholes, the Premier League's chief football officer, said "significant progress" had been made and he was hopeful it would still come before the end of the campaign.

After non-live test in Premier League games, SAOT was used for the first time in the fifth round and quarterfinals of the FA Cup.

One of the first matches with SAOT, Bournemouth vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, produced the longest-ever VAR review in English football, lasting eight minutes, due to two handball checks and the technology being unable to make the decision because of players being too close to each other. The VAR eventually had to use the old software, which is available in case of any problems.

SAOT is intended to reduce the time taken for an offside check by an average of 31 seconds.

Questions have been raised about the Premier League developing its own SAOT, when other leagues have already introduced it.

Scholes said: "The system that we've adopted, we believe it to be the best system. We believe it to be the most accurate and the most futureproof system as well and that's why we went with that.

"I have to confess, given the difficulties that we had over the first few months of the season, I had severe doubts about this, but the progress made over the last four to six weeks has been significant.

"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."

FIFA and UEFA have used an enhanced system in the World Cup and the UEFA Champions League, which sees a chip inside the ball for better detection of when the ball has been touched. However, Adidas owns the patent for that system, and none of the major European leagues use the company as ball supplier.

Serie A was the first European domestic league to switch to SAOT, introducing it in January 2023 after a high-profile VAR error early in that campaign had seen a stoppage-time winning goal for Juventus incorrectly disallowed.

LaLiga became the second top European league to move over to SAOT at the start of this season, though its accuracy has been called into doubt several times including when Robert Lewandowski had a goal disallowed for Barcelona against Real Sociedad.