Premier League clubs unanimously agreed on a major rule change on Thursday, which will see semi-automated offside technology introduced to England's top tier from next season.
Eliminating the need for VARs to manually add lines on the field of play, semi-automated offside techology also provides a clearer picture to supporters both live in the stadium and on broadcasts where the offside actually occurred. The images will be shown in stadiums to enhance the viewing experience.
The technology won't come into immediate effect from the start of the season, however, with it set to be introduced after either the September, October or even November international breaks. If the latter, then sides could well have played 11 Premier League games without the semi-automated offside technology.
According to journalist Henry Winter, assistant referees have been privately lobbying for the technology to aid them in offside calls. The Premier League, meanwhile, hopes that the change will improve the fan experience, because VARs will spend less time looking at offsides.
"At a Premier League Shareholders’ meeting today, clubs unanimously agreed to the introduction of Semi-Automated Offside Technology," a statement from the Premier League read.
"The new system will be used for the first time in the Premier League next season, and it is anticipated the technology will be ready to be introduced after one of the autumn international breaks.
"The technology will provide quicker and consistent placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking, and will produce high-quality broadcast graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters."
In June 2023, during the annual meeting of the Premier League, clubs collectively decided that semi-automated offside technology wasn't needed, despite plenty of leagues around Europe adopting the system. World Cup 2022 also used the technology successfully, but still the Premier League refused to discuss its benefits in detail.
Reports then suggested that the Nike balls used in the Premier League posed a problem in implementing the technology, with the chips not compatible with Nike footballs.
Those decisions and issues have since been reneged on, however, with this decision from the Premier League coming just months after "significant human error" wrongly disallowed Luis Diaz's goal for Liverpool against Tottenham Hotspur in September 2023.
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