Premier League to use semi-automated offside technology from next season

The Premier League will use AI-based player tracking technology to make offside calls from next season in a move that should reduce the time it takes officials to reach their decisions.

England’s top-division clubs announced Thursday they reached a unanimous decision on the introduction of semi-automated offside technology, saying the new system is set to be launched during the first half of the season.

“The technology will provide quicker and consistent placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking,” the league said, “and will produce high-quality broadcast graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters.”

Semi-automated offside technology was used at a World Cup for the first time in Qatar in 2022. For that tournament, there was a sensor in the ball to track its acceleration but that won’t be the case in the Premier League, which looks set to be more aligned with the system used by UEFA in the Champions League.

The Premier League is due to announce more details on the exact nature of the offside technology that will be used once contracts are signed. Extensive testing and analysis has been conducted this season.

Semi-automated offside technology is already in use in Italy's Serie A.

Multiple cameras will track player movements and record data points on parts of the body that are relevant for an offside decision. Data is processed with artificial intelligence to create a 3D offside line that is alerted to the team of VAR officials.

It is expected to take an average of around 30 seconds off the length of time it currently takes VAR officials to come to a decision manually, and improve confidence in decision-making after some high-profile mistakes.

The manual system will be available as a backup in the event of a failure of the semi-automated technology.

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Liverpool's Luis Diaz, centre, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Liverpool at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri voters on Wednesday got a step closer to getting to decide whether to raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour, after a group behind the effort said it turned in nearly double the required number of signatures.

The ballot measure backed by Missouri Jobs with Justice would raise the minimum wage from its current $12.30 an hour to $13.75 an hour next year and then to $15 an hour in 2026.

Citizen-driven amendments to Missouri law require more than 100,000 voter signatures to get on the ballot, and Missouri Jobs with Justice said it submitted about 210,000. Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft's office must next determine if at least 115,000 or so are valid.

“We feel confident that voters will have an opportunity to pass this important initiative this fall," Caitlyn Adams, executive director of Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action, said in a statement.

Missouri voters historically have supported minimum wage hikes.

After the Republican-led Legislature in 2017 blocked St. Louis and Kansas City from raising wages in those cities, voters in 2018 approved a statewide minimum wage hike.

Under that plan, the wage floor — then $7.85 an hour — rose by 85 cents per year until it hit $12 in 2023. Pay rose again this year because of automatic increases tied to inflation.

The latest proposal also includes a requirement that workers get paid sick leave.

Employees currently not guaranteed sick days would earn an hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked under the measure.

Businesses with fewer employees would be required to allow a minimum of five paid sick days per year, and larger companies would be required to offer at least seven paid sick days.

In this photo provided by Joni Wickham, advocates hoping to raise Missouri's minimum wage to $15 an hour turned in voter signatures Wednesday, May 1, 2024, to the Secretary of State's Office in Jefferson City, Mo. Campaigns need more than 100,000 valid voter signatures to put proposed changes to Missouri law before voters. (Joni Wickham via AP)