Premier League official statement - Newcastle United vs Manchester United impacted
Newcastle United v Manchester United and other Premier League fixtures this weekend will be played with a difference.
Newcastle United’s meeting with Manchester United will feature semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) for the first time in the Premier League.
SAOT has been used in the FA Cup from the fifth round onwards and devastatingly ruled out what Fabian Schar thought was a late winner in the Magpies’ 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in extra time in March.
Rather than wait until next season, the Premier League have decided introduce SAOT ahead of the remaining two months of this season. Man United visit St James’ Park on Sunday.
Premier League statement on semi-automated offside technology
A Premier League statement read: “The Premier League will introduce semi-automated offside technology this weekend, on Saturday 12 April, after non-live testing in the Premier League and live operation in the FA Cup this season.
“Semi-automated offside technology will provide more efficient placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking, and produce virtual graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters.
“The operation of semi-automated offside technology does not change the accuracy of the decision-making but enhances the speed, efficiency and consistency of the process.
“The Premier League has worked in collaboration with PGMOL and sports data and technology company Genius Sports to develop a new semi-automated offside technology system – and this will be its first use in a live competition.”
What is semi-automated offside technology?
“To determine close offside calls, the VAR currently needs to work with replay operators (RO) to manually determine the ‘kick-point’ for the offside decision and then draw’ calibrated lines with a crosshair on the relevant defender and attacker, using multiple camera angle,” the Premier League adds. “Once the lines and kick-point are determined, an ‘offside’ or ‘onside’ decision is generated.
“Semi-automated offside technology will suggest a ‘kick point’ and automatically create offside lines on the second rear-most defender and the relevant attacker – saving significant time in determining whether a player is onside or offside.
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“Once the semi-automated offside technology-generated outcome has been reviewed and approved by the VAR, a decision visual will be automatically generated and distributed to fans in the stadium and to the media.”
What has Eddie Howe said about semi-automated offside technology?
When asked about the SAOT rule changes ahead of the Brighton game, United boss Eddie Howe said: “Well, I've just seen it, like everybody else has, on various stages. I quite liked it.
“The visuals look quite clear and simple. And if it does speed up the game and makes those decisions quicker, then I'm all for it, as long as it's accurate.”
As well as that FA Cup tie, SAOT was in use for Newcastle matches during their 2023-24 Champions League campaign and it benefitted them on that occasion. Bruno Guimaraes’ offside was overturned, which allowed Dan Burn’s goal to stand in the 4-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at St James’ Park.