Scottish Premiership champions Celtic will be among the 32 teams who will trial Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) during this season's Champions League group stage.
Ange Postecoglou's men will dine at European football's top table for the first time in five years and a key rule change will be implemented, alongside existing VAR and goal line technology. UEFA caught people on the hop on Wednesday, with many expecting the debut of the innovative tool to come at the World Cup.
SAOT aims to speed up pre-existing VAR calls for offsides by taking out the human element and replacing it with artificial intelligence. The highly-anticipated development was briefly road-tested during the Club World Cup in February but it wasn't expected to be used again until Qatar.
Europa League finalists Rangers will hope to be in the mix with Celtic as well but that will mean producing a stirring comeback against Union Saint-Gilloise after losing the first leg 2-0. Gio van Bronckhorst's side will play either Monaco or PSV in the playoff round if they progress.
And it's already a Champions League season with a twist with six group stage games being condensed over nine weeks due to the club game taking pause for the inaugural winter World Cup.
UEFA chief refereeing officer Roberto Rosetti said: "UEFA is constantly looking for new technological solutions to improve the game and support the work of the referees. This innovative system will allow Video Assistant Referee (VAR) teams to determine offside situations quickly and more accurately, enhancing the flow of the game and the consistency of the decisions."
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