Semi-automatic offside debuts in Serie A: 12 cameras and 29 body points, how it works

It works thanks to twelve cameras installed in the stadiums (8 in addition to those provided by the broadcast) for the tracking of footballers. Tracking that occurs thanks to HawkVision technology, capable of "reconstructing" all the people present on the field starting from 29 body points, from the tip of the nose to the structure of the physical mass. The semi-automatic offside (SAOT) makes its debut in Serie A with the first match of the second half of the season: Bologna-Spezia, scheduled for Friday 27 January at 18.30:XNUMX.

After its use at the World Cup and the test in the Italian Super Cup on January 18, when it validated the first goal scored by Inter, the semi-automatic offside is ready to be used at full capacity in the championship, alongside Goal Line Technology and Var. The big goal is to speed up the work of the video referee and assistants, arriving at a decision quickly with a millimetre margin of difference. At least that is what is ensured.

Furthermore, the semi-automatic offside allows you to draw the line starting from the last player who keeps the opponents in play: therefore, at least in theory, what happened in Juventus-Salernitana a few months ago should never happen again, when the VAR did not notice that Antonio Candreva kept all the Juventus players in play and unfairly cancelled the 3-2 of the home team. The referees did not have all the images available: the 12 eyes of the semi-automatic offside instead keep the entire pitch under control.

Discover more