La Liga targets automated offside rollout next season

La Liga plans to move from semi-automated to fully automated offside decisions from next season as the Spanish league looks to tighten one of the most contested parts of match officiating.League president Javier Tebas said the proposed system would use a FIFA-approved chip inside the ball to identify the precise moment it is struck, alongside a dedicated camera set-up in stadiums.Tebas said: “We’re implementing automatic offside, we’ll see if it’s ready for next year. Right now there’s semi-automatic, but I don’t like ‘semi’.”The move is designed to remove reliance on the manual selection of frames by VAR, an issue that has fuelled repeated complaints from clubs, supporters and broadcasters when offside reviews have dragged on or produced unclear visuals.Tebas added: “It would involve putting a chip inside the ball, approved by FIFA, to detect it when it’s struck. It would be an automatic offside, eliminating the need for the famous frames.”The plan still requires final approval and operational coordination, including around stadium camera infrastructure and the match balls used across the competition.That points to a wider implementation challenge for La Liga and its technology partners, with any rollout likely to carry both infrastructure and supplier implications before the 2026/27 campaign.The issue has grown in prominence after several high-profile incidents in Spain in which semi-automated offside technology struggled in crowded penalty-box situations, forcing VAR officials back to manual line-drawing.Those interventions have extended stoppages and, in some cases, intensified scrutiny of the league’s officiating processes at a time when competition operators are under pressure to improve accuracy without disrupting the flow of matches.For La Liga, the proposed change is as much an operations and broadcast product decision as a refereeing one.A quicker and more credible offside process would help the league reduce controversy, protect confidence in VAR and strengthen a core part of its matchday presentation for clubs, media partners and fans.