Semi-Automated Offside Technology: Premier League’s new toy to be brought out of the box this weekend
Imagine a striker making a perfect run, receiving the ball, and scoring. You celebrate, but then everything stops for a VAR check. Minutes pass as a tangle of lines appears on screen, but it’s unclear. Was it his toe? His arm? After what feels like forever, the decision comes in. Football has become a game of tiny margins, and fans are tired of waiting.
Enter Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT), the Premier League’s answer to speeding up decisions and making them clearer.
Crystal Palace’s trip to the Etihad to face Manchester City kicks off the weekend’s top-flight football action in England. The fixture’s status as ‘obscure pub quiz answer’ is all but certified before a ball is kicked, after the Premier League confirmed the introduction of SAOT from April 12.
SAOT is the latest tool aimed at making offside decisions quicker and more accurate. The system was developed in response to growing frustration over how long VAR checks take, especially when it comes to marginal calls.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou summed up the feeling recently: “If you told me a few years ago that we would be spending five minutes during a football game standing around I would never have believed you. They draw those lines – is anyone convinced by those? We used to allow the assistants to make those decisions, and we all accepted it.”
How does SAOT work?
It uses artificial intelligence and a network of cameras to track player movements and automatically identify potential offsides without needing officials to manually draw lines. It’s already in use in the Champions League and other major competitions and is designed to reduce delays and keep the game moving.
The technology relies on up to 30 cameras installed around stadiums, some recording at 100 frames per second – double the speed of standard broadcast equipment. These track the ball and collect thousands of data points on each player’s body to create detailed 3D models. If the system detects a possible offside, it sends an alert to the VAR team and the SAOT operator.
But despite the name, the process isn’t entirely automated. Human officials still need to confirm that the system has chosen the correct frame – the precise moment the ball was played – and the relevant body parts. If a situation needs interpretation, like whether a defender’s touch was deliberate or if an offside player interfered without touching the ball, the referee can still be called over to the monitor.
VAR can also still step in if the technology struggles to track the play – for example, when players or the ball are obscured from the camera’s view. It acts as a back-up in these cases. VAR may also be required if there are multiple possible offside checks to review, or if a foul or handball in the build-up needs to be considered.
Why the delay?
Premier League clubs had unanimously voted in favour of bringing SAOT in last April, with a planned launch by October. But its rollout was delayed after early testing failed to convince officials it was ready. The biggest setback came in March, during the FA Cup fifth-round tie between Bournemouth and Wolves, where the system struggled with a crowded penalty area. The result was a record eight-minute VAR delay and yet another postponement of SAOT’s Premier League debut.
In a statement, the Premier League said the technology “automates key elements of the offside decision-making process to support the video assistant referee (VAR). It provides more efficient placement of the virtual offside line using optical player tracking and generates virtual graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for fans.”
The league added that it worked with PGMOL and sports data company Genius Sports to develop the system, promising it would enhance the “speed, efficiency, and consistency” of decision-making while maintaining the integrity of the process.
Whether SAOT will live up to the promise remains to be seen. But in a game where every inch counts and every second matters, the Premier League is betting that this new tool will help bring back the flow and trust that many fans feel the modern game has lost.
