Fifa Ready to Implement Automated System for Offside Calls – Wenger
Fifa will be ready to implement an automated system for offside calls at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Arsene Wenger says.
The game’s rule maker, IFAB, said in March it was continuing to review the offside law and planned to test technology that would allow for “semi-automatic” decisions to limit the need for long waits for VAR reviews.
Wenger, however, said he supported the “automated” offside technology, which directly informs a referee’s assistant if an incident is offside. According to Fifa semi-automated offside technology provides VAR with additional information before the referee makes the final call.
“The automated offside I think will be ready for 2022,” Wenger, Fifa’s head of football development, was quoted as saying in The Times. “I’m pushing very hard to have the automated offside, which means straight away the signal goes to the linesman.
“On average, the time we have to wait is around 70 seconds, sometimes 1 minute and 20 seconds … It is so important because we see many celebrations are cancelled after that for marginal situations.”
Last month, former Netherlands forward Marco van Basten called on football’s legislators to consider scrapping the offside rule, saying the game would be better off without it.