The Premier League is set to introduce AI-based player tracking technology in the upcoming season to aid officials in making offside calls. This move is expected to streamline the decision-making process for officials and enhance the experience for fans. The decision to introduce semi-automated offside technology was made unanimously by England’s top-division clubs.
The new technology will utilize optical player tracking to quickly and consistently place the virtual offside line, leading to the production of high-quality broadcast graphics. A similar system was used during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where a sensor in the ball tracked its acceleration.
The Premier League is aligning its system with that used by UEFA in the Champions League, which provides more details once contracts are signed. Extensive testing and analysis have been conducted this season in preparation for the launch. Italy’s Serie A already uses semi-automated offside technology, where multiple cameras track player movements and record data points relevant for offside decisions. Artificial intelligence processes the data to create a 3D offside line that is then reviewed by the team of VAR officials.
This new technology is expected to reduce the time it takes for officials to make decisions by an average of around 30 seconds, aiming to improve confidence in decision-making following some high-profile mistakes in the past. Despite the introduction of a semi-automated system, a manual process will be available as a backup in case of any technology failures.
