Premier League set to implement major VAR change that will impact Leeds United, Liverpool, Spurs, Man United, Aston Villa, Man City and Arsenal

The Premier League is considering changes to how offside is measured by VAR ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Ben McKenna
By Ben McKenna
Published 14th Sep 2022, 09:45 BST
Updated 14th Sep 2022, 12:33 BST

According to The Times, the league is looking to adopt a new semi-automated offside system before the start of the next top-flight campaign.

The system has been implemented in the Champions League. It processes all player and ball data in real time using artificial intelligence, which triggers an alert to the VAR officials when a possible offside has been detected.

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The officials operating VAR must then validate when the ball was played, if the offside line is accurate and if the player involved is deemed to be active before informing the on-field referee of the final decision.

In the Premier League, VAR officials manually draw lines when ruling on offside decisions which has led to some controversy in fixtures this season. Now, the top flight is looking to make changes in line with UEFA.

Fans want to see vast improvements in how VAR is used in the Premier League, according to the Football Supporters’ Association, and this appears to be a step in making the video system more effective.

“We’ve made clear to PL that the overwhelming majority of match-goers and TV viewers think VAR makes football less enjoyable. Vast improvements needed,” the FSA said earlier this month.

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It continued: “From day one we’ve been critical of VAR’s implementation. We supported goal-line technology as it has proven instantaneous and doesn’t interrupt flow of the game. The same cannot be said for VAR.”

A general view inside the stadium as the LED screen displays a VAR check at Elland Road. Picture: George Wood/Getty Images.A general view inside the stadium as the LED screen displays a VAR check at Elland Road. Picture: George Wood/Getty Images.
A general view inside the stadium as the LED screen displays a VAR check at Elland Road. Picture: George Wood/Getty Images.

An FSA survey published last summer found 95 per cent of 33,000 felt VAR had made football less enjoyable and that only one in four now backed it.

The FSA thread detailed a series of meetings between itself, the league and PGMOL since 2018.

It said: “Our next PL/PGMOL meetings will be scheduled soon and we’ll continue to try and improve things for match-going fans when it comes to VAR’s use in stadiums. Communications, speed, accuracy. It’s an issue that isn’t going away.”

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Nine Premier League clubs – Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Manchester United, Brighton and Hove Albion, Southampton and Nottingham Forest – reportedly already have the infrastructure in place to implement a semi-automated offside system through VAR.

The rule change is expected to be passed when the vote is put to Premier League clubs after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Related topics:Premier LeagueVARMan UnitedMan City