Premier League CEO Richard Masters and Bournemouth centre-back Dean Huijsen
(Credit: ITV Sports)
Keith Hackett
Tue 18 March 2025 17:01, UK
Keith Hackett is baffled by the Premier League after their semi-automated offside technology was deemed not fit for purpose in the wake of the debacle at Bournemouth vs Wolves.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the Premier League and PGMOL must use technology that relies on ball-tracking to see success with semi-automated offside technology (SAOT), as is used by FIFA and UEFA.
Hackett had previously called for SAOT to help sides like Arsenal, who felt wronged by missed offsides.
Wolves and Bournemouth fans were subjected to an eight-minute delay in their FA Cup tie, whilst waiting for the outcome on a close offside call, after Liverpool target Dean Huijsen put the ball in the back of the net.
Two checks were conducted, the first being as to whether the ball had come off the Dutch international’s arm, which it was decided had not happened.
The second check was to determine whether Huijsen was onside, and following a delay, commentators had suggested the technology, designed to make the process more efficient, had failed, leading to the VAR team potentially having to revert to drawing lines on the pitch.
Bournemouth centre-back Dean Hujsen
Bournemouth centre-back Dean Hujsen saw his goal against Wolves disallowed. (Credit: Imago)
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Premier League delays introduction of semi-auto offsides after Bournemouth gaffe
According to a report from The Guardian on 18 March, the Premier League have further delayed their the introduction of SAOT, citing the Bournemouth versus Wolves match.
The failure of the technology owed to what sources have described as a “congested penalty area”.
Plans to introduce SAOT in the Premier League have been put back as a result of it’s failings, but the FA have confirmed they will trial the technology in three of the FA Cup quarter-finals (Preston vs Aston Villa will not use it due to the Championship club not having the capacity to operate it), and press ahead with plans to use it in the semi-finals, and final.
The Premier League‘s chief football officer, Tony Scholes, has reportedly admitted to having “severe doubts” over the viability of SAOT.
Despite claims that SAOT would reduce the waiting time for decisions to 30 seconds, the delay in the FA Cup fifth round tie was more than two minutes longer than the previous record delay, of five minutes and 37 seconds during West Ham’s clash with Aston Villa in the Premier League last year.
Keith Hackett offers expert verdict on Premier League’s semi-auto issue
Giving his opinion on the Premier League’s decision, and the current issues with SAOT, ex-PGMOL chief, Hackett, provided an insightful verdict on the issue exclusively to Football Insider, saying:
“It is difficult to understand the decision that was made by the Premier League and the PGMOL to not purchase the identical system to the one that is used by FIFA and UEFA.
“A system that was trialled before its launch and introduced with success into the three most prestigious competitions in the world: The FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League and Euro Championships.
“The Premier League decided to create its own hybrid system using Genius Sports to develop it and deliver into the Premier League. The FIFA and UEFA system’s operate with its own dedicated cameras installed in the stadiums.
“The new technology uses 12 dedicated tracking cameras mounted underneath the roof of the stadium to track the ball and up to 29 data points of each individual player, 50 times per second, calculating their exact position on the pitch.
Average VAR delay by season Delay in seconds
2024/25 25
2023/24 64
2022/24 40
“The 29 collected data points include all limbs and extremities that are relevant for making offside calls.
“Al Rihla, Adidas’ official match ball for Qatar 2022, will provide a further vital element for the detection of tight offside incidents as an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor will be placed inside the ball. This sensor, positioned in the centre of the ball, sends ball data to the video operation room 500 times per second, allowing a very precise detection of the kick point.
“By combining the limb and ball-tracking data and applying artificial intelligence, the new technology provides an automated offside alert to the video match officials inside the video operation room whenever the ball is received by an attacker who was in an offside position at the moment the ball was played by a team-mate.
“Before informing the on-field referee, the video match officials validate the proposed decision by manually checking the automatically selected kick point and the automatically created offside line, which is based on the calculated positions of the players’ limbs. This process happens within a few seconds and means that offside decisions can be made faster and more accurately.
Four VAR intervention errors this season Decision Outcome
Dango Outtara handball – Bournemouth 1-1 Newcastle Outtara scored a late goal against Newcastle, only for VAR to deem it to be handball. No conclusive evidence deeming it to be a handball, Howard Webb said VAR was incorrect to intervene.
Matthijs de Ligt foul on Danny Ings – West Ham 2-1 Man United A penalty was awarded after Ings went down in the area. Webb later confirmed, after Erik ten Haag was sacked, the decision was incorrect.
Christian Norgaard red card – Brentford 0-0 Everton Norgaard caught Jordan Pickford on the knee, VAR advised a red card. Norgaard’s three-match suspension was overturned on appeal.
Nikola Milenkovic goal disallowed – Nottingham Forest 3-2 Southampton Goal disallowed on VAR advice as Chris Wood came from an offside position, despite not touching the ball. An independent panel fould the goal should have been given
“After the decision has been confirmed by the referee on the pitch, the exact same positional data points that were used to make the decision are then generated into a 3D animation that perfectly details the position of the players’ limbs at the moment the ball was played.
“This 3D animation, which will always show the best possible perspectives for an offside situation, will then be shown on the giant screens in the stadium and will also be made available to FIFA’s broadcast partners to inform all spectators in the clearest possible way.
“So what is the real problem behind the failed to date system we witnessed in the fifth round at the FA Cup where it took over eight minutes to deliver a decision?
Keith Hackett on Milutin Osmajic update
Former head of the PGMOL and FIFA referee Keith Hackett
“It is my belief that firstly FIFA use Sony High speed Cameras, the same cameras that I used when developing the successful Goal Line Technology with Hawkeye.
“Cameras operating at 500 frames per second. GLT uses proven ball tracking technology, these two areas must be the challenging areas for a new developer. The Adidas’s wonderful ball tracking is achieved using a patented chip in the ball. The Premier League currently use the Nike ball bringing in Puma next season.
“For the Semi Automated Offside System to operate successfully, ball tracking is the key.”
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