The introduction of Artificial Intelligence-driven semi-automated VAR offside technology remains on course to be used at the World Cup in Qatar.
That is the message from The International Football Association Board (The IFAB), the organisation that determines the laws of football.
Offside decisions using VAR have been taking up to four minutes, with the technology aiming to cut the decision down to three or four seconds by providing faster information.
Chelsea were the first Premier League side to experience the technology during the Club World Cup in February, just two months after the initial semi-automated system made its debut.
The IFAB continues in its discussions with FIFA as to the implementation of the upgraded VAR system, with the aim to utilise the offside technology at the upcoming World Cup in November.
"It looks very good and very promising," FIFA president Gianni Infantino told a news conference on Monday.
"Our experts are looking into [the trials] before we take a decision on whether it will be used for the World Cup or not."
FIFA's head of refereeing Pierluigi Collina, added: "My personal opinion is that I'm very confident we can go ahead with this. We want to achieve accuracy, quicker decisions, also more accepted decisions.
"We have seen in matches where the semi-automated offside was implemented these objectives were achieved.
"It uses the same process as goal-line technology, and we have seen that is very well accepted by the football community, nobody comments on this.
"We are confident that the same reaction, in terms of acceptance, can be given to the semi-automated offside."
The Premier League is expected to introduce the technology, if successful at the World Cup, in the 2023-24 season.
Trials are also in the works to give attacking players the advantage in offside situations, with Collina revealing the rules are under consideration.
"We are considering that a very marginal offside is not that relevant to be punished in modern football," Collina added.
"So we are running this experiment. Unfortunately, the competitions where these trials were allowed were suspended or abandoned for almost two years due to the pandemic.
"So now we have tests going on in [youth football] in the Netherlands, in Italy and in Sweden and certainly we will come to conclusions once we have evidence and figures from these trials."
The IFAB also confirmed it was investigating how to reduce time-wasting, with the ball usually in action for just 54 minutes of a 90-minute match.
Former Soca Warriors stalwart Shaka Hislop points to lack of talent, depth in T&T squad as Dwight Yorke's biggest test
Though Dwight Yorke is committed to throwing his best efforts into his new role as senior Soca Warriors Head coach, former teammate Shaka Hislop believes it is the talent within Trinidad and Tobago’s setup that will ultimately determine the success of his tenure.
Yorke, the former Manchester United and Soca Warriors striker, was given a mandate by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) to qualify the Twin Island Republic to the 2026 Fifa World Cup or face the boot and the 53-year-old has declared his readiness to give of his best.
“Rest assured, I will give 100. I feel very calm, very excited at the same time, but fully aware of the challenge that is lying ahead. There’s lots of hard work to be done,” Yorke told TTFA media interview shortly after arriving in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday.
“Not just me, the backroom stuff, the players to get where we want to get... obviously, trying to qualify for the World Cup. And yes, along the way, I’m sure they’re going to be some testing times for us. But that’s the challenges that lies ahead. So once we embrace it, once we are fully aware of it, and once we get the support, I fully believe, I’m fully confident that we can get the job done,” he added.
However, Hislop, while welcoming Yorke’s appointment, knows all too well that coaches coach but the results will ultimately come from how the players perform on match days.
In fact, Hislop, who along with Yorke represented the Soca Warriors at the 2006 global showpiece, was not shy to admit that the current squad lacks depth and sufficient talent, which he believes represent the toughest aspect of the puzzle at this point. This, as aside from AEK Athens striker Levi Garcia, Yorke’s current crop is made up of mostly lower leagues or home-based players.
“We’ve kind of stumbled from coach to coach over the last four or five years, probably dating back to Stephen Hart when he was in charge. But I think the TTFA got it right this time. That’s with the greatest respect to our teammate Dennis Lawrence and Angus Eve, who have both been in charge of the team, but results really didn’t go their way,” Hislop shared during a podcast.
“I think the big challenge for Dwight coming in with this squad is it’s not a very talented squad, if I may say so... certainly, on paper, and results would bear that out. How he’s able to find the right pieces for this puzzle is going to be Dwight’s biggest test,” the ESPN analyst added.
That said, Hislop also pointed to the significance of match fitness and, as such, urged the TTFA to ensure Yorke and his players consistently engage warm-up games during the November 2024 and March 2025 international windows.
Trinidad and Tobago currently sit second in Group B on four points, two behind Costa Rica, with St. Kitts and Nevis (three points), Grenada (one point), and the Bahamas (zero point) completing the group. Qualifying action will resume in June 2025.
“We’ve got some games during the international window as well. We’ve got the November window, which will be Dwight’s first time on the sidelines. So we have opportunity to see the squad, to make adjustments, to try to bring in players before things get very serious in terms of qualifiers,” Hislop noted.
Al-Riyadh 0-1 Al-Nassr: Mane hands visitors bragging rights
Sadio Mane's first-half strike ensured Al-Nassr maintained their unbeaten start to the Saudi Pro League season with a 1-0 win over rivals Al-Riyadh.
He smartly finished from close range in the 41st minute, with his goal enough to seal the three points and move Al-Nassr up to third in the table.
Al-Nassr's threat grew as the first half went on, with Milan Borjan making a fine double stop to deny Ronaldo and Talisca once again before Mohamed Simakan struck the post on the rebound.
Mane would eventually break the deadlock in the 41st minute though, darting in front of his marker to meet Abdulrahman Ghareeb's low cross and rifle it into the roof of the net.
The Senegalese striker arguably should have doubled his tally before the break, but was denied by Borjan's stretching save when one-on-one with the Canadian.
Talisca should have wrapped up the points in the final three minutes, but he blazed over an empty net from close range, before having a late goal disallowed for offside.
Data Debrief: Derby delight for Al-Nassr
After drawing their last two matches, this win was a welcome result for Al-Nassr as they racked up their sixth victory of the season to close the gap at the top of the table to six points.
It is just the second time Al-Nassr have avoided defeat in their first 10 matches of a Pro League campaign, last doing so in 2013-14, when they won the league title.
They are now unbeaten in their last seven Pro League derbies (W4 D3), their longest such streak since a run of nine between 2018 and 2020.
This is the first time in eight such games that they have kept a clean sheet though, and limited their opponents to just five shots throughout.
Al-Hilal 3-1 Al-Ettifaq: Champions return to the summit with dominant win
Al-Hilal surged back to the Saudi Pro League summit with a convincing 3-1 triumph over 10-man Al-Ettifaq on Friday.
The defending champions are now one point clear of Al-Ittihad in the standings, with their latest victory piling more misery on Al-Ettifaq boss, Steven Gerrard.
Al-Hilal struggled in the early exchanges at the Kingdom Arena, registering their first effort on Marek Rodak's goal in the 38th minute courtesy of Marcos Leonardo.
But the hosts would take the lead in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, with Mitrovic on hand to steer Renan Lodi's delivery into the net from close range.
Al-Hilal then doubled their advantage nine minutes from time when Malcolm collected the ball from Abdullah Al Hamddan, before rounding Rodak and finishing into an empty net.
However, hopes of a comeback from the visitors were revived in second-half stoppage time when Joao Cancelo gave away a penalty after a handball inside the box.
Vitinho stepped up and fired home the spot-kick, but Al-Hilal confirmed the win two minutes later through Mohammed Al Qahtani, with visiting forward Abdullah Radif shown a late red card for violent conduct.
Data Debrief: Happy Friday!
Al-Hilal continued their quest for a 20th Saudi Pro League crown with a dominant display against Al-Ettifaq, extending their unbeaten run against their opponents in the process.
They have now not lost their last 13 league encounters against Al-Ettifaq (W12 D1), surpassing their longest unbeaten streak against them in the competition (12 matches between 2008 and 2013 - W8 D4).
Al-Hilal have now lost only three matches when hosting teams on a Friday in the Pro League out of 55 matches (W46 D6 L3).
Lodi also took his goal contribution tally to eight this season in all competitions (three goals, five assists). During his European career with three different clubs, he only notched more goal involvements (nine) in the 2021-22 campaign with Atletico Madrid.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
