How The Semi-Automated Offside System Works and What It Means For British Football

The semi-automated offside system will be used in British football for the first time during the FA Cup fifth round – but how does it work?

What Is The Semi-Automated Offside System?

The Football Association (FA) has confirmed that automated offsides will be utilised in British football for the first time during the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Implementing the system into British football has been on the cards in recent years, with Premier League sides voting to use it during the 2024/25 campaign.

However, this decision was postponed to put further research into the technology and make sure it is completely secure before entering the world’s biggest league.

Issues over offsides and overall officiating in the Premier League has been at an all-time high this season and using automated offsides may help end some of these issues.

How Does The System Work?

Automated offsides have one main purpose, to remove the possibility of human error and replace it with technology that looks at each call through the same lens.

Currently, officials will look into all offside decisions when a goal is scored and VAR is used to determine whether any part of the player (that is eligible to score a goal) is offside.

This has been done by drawing lines onto the freeze frame after deciding when the ball was kicked and fans have shown some disdain towards the use of lines.

Automated offsides work by having a multitude of cameras installed into every ground that cover a variety of angles throughout the match.

These cameras will then follow the precise movement of the ball, while also focusing on 29 points on each of the 22 players and automatically confirm whether the player is offside or not.

After the use of artificial intelligence to determine the offside decision, VAR officials will then go through and decide whether the key points have been looked into.

Following the decision, a 3D image of the offside call will be shown to viewers at home and those in attendance (if there is a screen at the stadium).

When Will It Be Used?

The FA confirmed that the new technology will be used in the FA Cup fifth round, as a sort of trial run for it inclusion in the Premier League.

This stage of the competition will be played on Saturday 1st March and will involve matches such as Manchester United vs Fulham and Manchester City vs Plymouth.

The FA release a statement about the decision, claiming it will not impact the accuracy of the decision, but will speed things up for spectators.

The FA said: “Semi-Automated Offside Technology will provide more efficient placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking, and produce virtual graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters.

“The operation of Semi-Automated Offside Technology does not change the accuracy of the decision making but enhances the speed and efficiency of the process.”

What Countries Use The Semi-Automated Offside System?

Automated-offsides have been utilised in some of the world’s biggest competitions, including Serie A (Italy) and La Liga (Spain).

Its biggest and most notable inclusion has come in the Champions League, as Europe’s elite competition has used the system for a few years now.