The Premier League approved the use of semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) last summer, after the technology was used successfully and effectively in various other competitions, including the Champions League and the World Cup, but after promising to implement in the autumn, it is only now, right near the end of the season that we’re finally getting it. The league announced that the technology will be introduced on Matchday 32, on April 12. At this rate, we could’ve just waited until next season.
The Premier League’s system will be similar to UEFA’s, which relies purely on high speed cameras. So there’s no chip in the ball (like for FIFA), and instead 30 dedicated cameras have been installed at Premier League grounds to track the movements of players and the ball. These cameras operate at 100 frames per second (fps), which is much higher than the standard 30 or 60 fps of TV broadcast cameras, and thus should lead to not only faster, but more accurate (and more publicly visible) results.
The system will draw the lines — same thickness as currently — which often seems a task well beyond the mental capacity of the human operators, and the humans will then just oversee the process and make the final calls. In rare cases, the manually drawn lines will still have to be used if the automation fails to understand the picture. Here’s a more detailed technical breakdown from the Premier League of how the system will work.
The first Chelsea game to feature this tech will be our home game against Ipswich Town on Sunday, April 13.