FIFA has officially announced the introduction of a new offside detection technology for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, aiming to improve decision-making and reduce delays during matches.
The new system will work alongside assistant referees and is designed to identify clear offside situations more quickly. Under the technology, assistant referees will receive an alert when an attacking player is more than 10 centimetres offside.
This will allow officials to raise their flags sooner rather than waiting for an attacking move to finish before making a decision.
The move comes after years of debate over delayed offside calls, which became common following the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system.
In recent tournaments, assistant referees have often been instructed to keep their flags down during close offside situations and allow play to continue until the action ends.
While this approach helps ensure that legitimate goals are not incorrectly ruled out, it has also led to frustration among players, coaches, and supporters when attacks continue despite an obvious offside position.
FIFA believes the new technology will help reduce unnecessary play and lower the risk of injuries that can occur when players continue competing in situations that are later ruled offside.
The system is expected to improve the flow of matches while maintaining the accuracy of officiating decisions.
Despite the technological support, FIFA has stressed that human officials will remain responsible for making the final decision.
Assistant referees and VAR officials will have the authority to ignore an alert if they believe the technology has made an error or if additional factors need to be considered.
The system will not be used to decide marginal offside calls involving very small distances. It is also unable to determine subjective situations, such as whether a player in an offside position interfered with an opponent or gained an advantage from their position. Such decisions will continue to rely on the judgment of match officials.
