Major change to VAR to be introduced for FA Cup fifth...

THE FA CUP fifth round is set to be the testing ground of semi-automated offside technology. The technology, also known as SAOT, is set to be introduced into the fifth round of England's premier cup competition with a view to a wider introduction to English football later on. SAOT was successfully used at the 2022 World Cup and was set to be brought to the Premier League in autumn after clubs unanimously voted to bring it in last April.

Image Credit: The Sun [Illustration of semi-automated offside technology in soccer, showing a player in an offside position.]

However, officials were not satisfied with its accuracy when testing in stadiums, leading to it being delayed and prompting frustration. According to The Guardian, the technology is now set to be trialled in the FA Cup fifth round. The report says the system has been refined and its effectiveness improved considerably in the past month. PGMOL chief Howard Webb and the Premier League’s chief football officer, Tony Scholes, have both now given their approval.

Image Credit: The Sun [Stadium scoreboard showing a VAR offside decision, the score 0-0, and the time 06:37.]

Seven of the eight ties in the fifth round are being played at Premier League grounds, with the exception of Championship side Preston, making it ideal for an extended live-testing stage. Top-flight clubs will be officially informed about the trial by the Premier League at its shareholders’ meeting in London today. SAOT and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) have not been used in any of the previous rounds of the competition to ensure a "consistent refereeing approach for all clubs taking part in the same stage of the competition".

JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS. This led to several controversial decisions, including Harry Maguire's last-gasp winner for Manchester United against Leicester in the fourth round which would have been ruled offside with the help of technology. It is hoped the tech will reduce the waiting time for offside decisions to be made if VAR is introduced by more than 30 seconds. Camera footage and special tracking software are used to calculate the position of players at the moment of a potential offside, removing the need for VAR teams to manually add lines to still images.

During Everton's dramatic 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the last-ever Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, James Tarkowski's last-gasp equaliser took four minutes before it came to a decision. Scholes had previously admitted to being sceptical until seeing recent improvements. He said: "I have to confess, given the difficulties that we had over the first few months of the season [with SAOT testing] I had severe doubts.