La Liga Unveils Revolutionary Automatic Offside Tech with Ball Chip

What is changing

The changes are expected to end the recent offside controversies as La Liga, under Javier Tebas, revealed a revolutionary update to the offside rule to be implemented in the near future.

The league says it has already secured FIFA's approval to implement these new steps.

According to Mundo Deportivo, among the planned changes for next season is the addition of an electronic chip inside the ball to aid offside calls.

This move continues the league's technology drive that began with VAR and later the semi automatic offside system SAOT, announced by Tebas during the first collective agreement for professional referees unveiled in Madrid last Monday.

How it will work and what comes next

Tebas has expressed a desire to roll out the system starting next week, noting that there is currently a semi automated system but he does not favor using that term. The ball will carry an electronic chip approved by FIFA to detect the moment the ball is struck.

The system requires a dedicated camera setup in stadiums and will be an automatic offside solution that does not depend on a video assistant referee to mark the exact moment of contact. Instead, the offside position will be determined by the electronic data, addressing some of the recent weeks' ongoing issues.

For now, final approval details are being prepared, and brands of balls used in the leagues must be reviewed. As Tebas explained, this is one of the technical goals for the coming season.

Punchline 1: If this chip works as advertised, offside calls will be decided before your phone buzzes with a penalty alert.

Punchline 2: Finally, a tech upgrade faster than a fan’s hot take—call it offside, not onside, and let the ball do the counting.