In an effort to expedite decision-making, the Premier League will implement semi-automated offside technology for the upcoming season.

The teams unanimously decided on this step during a shareholders’ meeting on Thursday.

Major tournaments have been using the technology, which helps reduce margins of error and the need for lengthy waits for VAR reviews, in which match officials manually determine whether a player is offside or not.

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“The new system will be used for the first time in the Premier League next season, and it is anticipated the technology will be ready to be introduced after one of the autumn international breaks,” the league said in a statement.

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

Officials from VAR presently check offsides in the Premier League, but the system has come under fire for taking too long to make a decision and for keeping spectators in the dark about replays.

Multiple cameras are used with this technology to track both the ball and each player.

The phrase “semi-automated” refers to the fact that VAR must still evaluate a player’s offside call based on the available data, as the technology cannot identify offside on its own.

The technology was most recently employed at the Asian Cup earlier this year, but it has also been used in the Champions League and the World Cup of 2022.