FIFA has introduced a new layer of offside technology for the 2026 World Cup, aiming to reduce delayed flags and provide faster calls.
The upgraded system will alert assistant referees with real-time audio alerts when an attacker is more than 10cm offside, allowing the flag to go up immediately in clearer cases.
This change is designed to cut down on awkward and sometimes dangerous passages of play, where players continue to sprint or challenge despite the possibility that the move is already dead.
The new technology uses multiple tracking cameras, artificial intelligence, and sensor data from the ball to estimate the attacker's position relative to the defensive line.
While VAR is not being removed from offside decisions, the new system will be especially useful for positional offside cases, where the question is mainly whether the player was ahead of the last defender when the ball was played.
