Many fans have been dreaming of this since the 2022 World Cup. The Bundesliga will soon be given a long-awaited technology. However, there is apparently still one hurdle that needs to be overcome before then.
Controversial offside decisions still regularly cause trouble. It was only on Monday that the referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia) withdrew Jamie Leweling‘s supposed lightning goal against the Netherlands, to the dismay of many experts.
In this case, however, it wasn’t about the actual offside position. This could soon no longer cause any problems in the Bundesliga because, according to “BILD” information, the DFL is planning to introduce semi-automatic recording for the coming season.
It is already part of everyday life in England, Italy and the Champions League, the Spanish La Liga is also following suit and now the solution is set to make its debut here too. Apparently the 36 professional clubs still have to give their consent for this.
Technology more precise and faster thanks to tracking data
The semi-automatic offside technology has a major advantage: sensors record all relevant body parts of the players and the ball position almost continuously, so that no line needs to be calibrated manually. This should not only prevent a large proportion of errors, but also speed up decision-making.
Nevertheless, the referee remains the decision maker. In the Bundesliga, he has been able to rely on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) since 2017. From the 2025/26 season onwards, the system will probably only have to deal with tricky offside decisions sporadically.
