New offside technology and other innovations at the Club World Cup

New offside technology and other innovations at the Club World Cup

football

Express newspaper

12/06/2025 17:12

Club World Cup officials will use an accelerated version of semi-automatic offside (SAO) technology, which will immediately signal referees to stop play if a player who is more than 10 centimetres offside touches the ball.

This is one of the most important initiatives being implemented in this 32-team tournament to be held in the USA and aims to reduce unnecessary delays during the game.

The assistant referees will receive the notification immediately, without having to wait for the positions and distances to be checked, as is usually the case with the semi-automatic offside systems used in most major leagues.

SAO was first introduced in the Premier League on April 12, while previously all offside decisions were made by VAR.

This improved technology comes just a month after Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi suffered a serious abdominal injury after colliding with the post in the match against Leicester, in an action that occurred despite him being in a clear offside position that had not been flagged.

Among the other innovations that will be used in the tournament that starts on Sunday are:

• Referees will wear body cameras, which will broadcast live footage before the match and on delay during it.
• An eight-second countdown for goalies to release the ball after possession.
• VAR footage will be broadcast in real time to fans inside the stadium.

These developments aim to increase transparency, efficiency and safety on the field during this important international competition.