The English Premier League will introduce a new feature in the upcoming 2024/25 season. The league is introducing semi-automatic offside technology
On Thursday, the Premier League announced that “at a shareholders’ meeting, the clubs unanimously approved the introduction of semi-automatic offside technology”. Nothing now stands in the way of establishing this innovation for the 2024/25 season.
The date is also said to be roughly fixed. “It is expected that the technology will be ready for use after one of the international breaks in the fall,” according to a statement. The Nations League starts next season on September 5, followed by the international break on October 7.
“Improved experience for the fans “
The Premier League has high hopes for the new technology. “The technology will enable faster and more consistent placement of the virtual offside line based on visual player tracking and generate high-quality broadcast graphics to ensure an enhanced stadium and broadcast experience for fans,” says the league, which also hopes to achieve faster VAR decisions.
However, the Premier League is not a pioneer in this regard; this technology was already introduced at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Italy’s Serie A followed suit shortly afterwards, establishing the innovation from January 2023. Semi-automatic offside detection is also already being used in the Champions League. It remains to be seen whether the Bundesliga will also consider introducing it in the future.
