The Premier League is poised to unveil a revolutionary new version of the video assistant referee system using semi-automatic offside technology (SAOT) which, it claims, will produce the best officiating setup in the world.
The AI-powered system has been developed by the technology company Genius Sports, which will install 28 computer vision cameras at every Premier League ground. The company is confident it can deliver VAR verdicts within seconds and shave minutes off top-flight matches.
The Premier League was blighted regularly by lengthy delays for VAR checks last season, with officials taking 5min 37sec to disallow a West Ham goal against Aston Villa in March. The average VAR referral took 64sec, resulting in the average game length extending to almost 102min.
The Premier League’s chief football officer, Tony Scholes, admitted in February that VAR delays were ruining matches for fans, and the top-flight executive has responded by recommending the introduction of SAOT. The clubs voted unanimously in favour of bringing in the new technology in April, although its introduction was briefly in doubt when Wolves proposed scrapping VAR altogether in June in an extraordinary move that did not get any other votes.
After a competitive bidding process, Genius Sports is understood to have beaten the Premier League’s existing data partner Hawk-Eye to win the SAOT contract. During testing held at several Premier League and Champions League games last season the SAOT operated by match officials delivered decisions in a matter of seconds, leading Genius to claim the average waiting time can be reduced to around 30sec.
The computer vision cameras capture 10,000 surface data points for each player and the ball, enabling Genius to instantly create so-called “offside walls” for the VAR and match officials, with its 3D player graphics also to be made available for TV viewers. While the details have yet to be agreed, the detailed player graphics showing clear offside lines could also be shown in stadiums, which would significantly improve the match-day experience for fans.
The Premier League claims collecting billions of data points will give it the most sophisticated officiating system in sport, providing unparalleled precision in every offside decision.
The new system will not be used until after the international break next month, as it will take time to install the cameras and other technology in grounds. Hawk-Eye will continue to operate goalline technology in the Premier League for at least one more season, with its contract expiring next summer.
In addition to the delays the Premier League endured a number of high-profile offside errors last season. In February VAR failed to identify that a Brentford player was offside in the buildup to a goal at Arsenal, while on the same day manually drawn lines were placed on the wrong Crystal Palace defender, leading to a Brighton goal incorrectly being disallowed.
The introduction of SAOT should ensure such mistakes are not repeated, but would not prevent the gaffe that led to a Liverpool goal being incorrectly ruled out for offside at Tottenham last October due to poor communication between the officials.
SAOT was first introduced by Uefa for the 2022-23 Champions League. Fifa also used it for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
