Semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) is set to be trialled in the FA Cup fifth round next month with a view to it being introduced in the Premier League before the end of the season.
The Guardian has learned that the FA has agreed to run an experiment with the new technology, which has been delayed due to teething problems in the testing process.
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The Premier League planned to introduce SAOT, which was first used at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, last autumn but officials were unhappy with its accuracy during testing in stadiums.
It is understood that the technology has been refined and its effectiveness improved considerably in the last month however, with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) chief Howard Webb and the Premier League’s chief football officer, Tony Scholes, both giving their approval.
The FA Cup fifth-round draw has thrown up the opportunity for an extended trial as seven of the eight ties will take place at Premier League grounds, with the other at Championship club Preston.
The Premier League hopes that SAOT technology can reduce the time to confirm offside decisions in the event of a VAR intervention by more than 30 seconds. The system uses camera footage and tracking software to calculate the position of players at the moment of a potential offside, removing the need for VAR teams to manually add lines to still images. VARs may still be required to assess offside decisions in the event of a goal being scored, depending on the complexity of the assessment.
Clubs voted unanimously to introduce the technology at a Premier League meeting last April, and have been frustrated by the delay. The Premier League will inform clubs of the trial at its shareholders’ meeting in London on Thursday.
Scholes admitted last week he had been concerned about the reliability of the technology until recent improvements.
“I have to confess, given the difficulties that we had over the first few months of the season [with SAOT testing] I had severe doubts,” Scholes said. “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.”
