Premier League edge closer to automatic offside calls

The Premier League has moved a step closer to using automated technology to decide offside calls after a successful trial at a top-flight club.

The ‘skeletal player tracking system’, developed by HawkEye – who have had success with football’s goal-line technology – provides an instant message to the referee, rather than the long waits often associated with VAR checks.

Match officials would still have to determine whether the offside player was interfering with play, but would no longer have to draw on offside lines as with VAR.

Offsides could be revolutionised with a ‘skeletal player tracking system’, made by HawkEye

Sportsmail first revealed in October 2019 that the League were exploring the use of limb-tracking technology to provide instant calls on offsides. 

The system has undergone a successful trial at a Premier League club for the last year, and four teams – Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United – will have it in place next season. 

The system could be fully operational as soon as 2023.

Premier League officials told Sportsmail in March that they backed the Hawkeye system’s rapid response, as assistant referees were being criticised for keeping their flags down while waiting for a VAR review at the end of a phase of play.

Offside calls, such as the one that denied Chelsea in the FA Cup final, could now be sped up