January 17, (THEWILL) – Spain’s Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) has called on La Liga, to implement a semi-automated offside tool after a VAR error led to an offside goal being allowed during Monday’s match between Cadiz and Elche.
THEWILL recalls that the goal, scored by Elche’s Ezequiel Ponce in the 81st minute, helped his team earn a late point in the match and avoid defeat. Replays showed that Ponce was offside when he first touched the ball, leading to the CTA recognising the error and offering La Liga a solution to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The CTA has also announced that the semi-automatic offside technology will be used in the Copa del Rey final. The committee has also taken internal disciplinary measures against the officials involved in the mistake.
A CTA statement on the issue read: “Putting an end to human error is not possible, but it is possible in offside [decisions] if the semi-automatic tool is applied.
“The semi-automatic offside will also be carried out in the Copa del Rey final since the implementation of this technology can only be carried out in the First Division Champions League stadiums and not in the rest of the first and second division.”
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
