Refereeing

THE FA CUP fifth round is set to be the testing ground of semi-automated offside technology.The technology, also known as SAOT, is set to be introduced into the fifth round of England’s premier cup competition with a view to a wider introduction to English football later on.Semi-automated offside technology was successfully used at the 2022 World CupCredit: FIFAIt is now set to undergo a live trial during the FA Cup fifth roundCredit: AFPSAOT was successfully used at the 2022 World Cup and was set to be brought to the Premier League in autumn after clubs unanimously voted to bring it in last April.However, officials were not satisfied with its accuracy when testing in stadiums, leading to it being delayed and prompting frustration.According to The Guardian, the technology is now set to be trialled in the FA Cup fifth round.The report says the system has been refined and its effectiveness improved considerably in the past month.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLPGMOL chief Howard Webb and the Premier League’s chief football officer, Tony Scholes, have both now given their approval.Seven of the eight ties in the fifth round are being played at Premier League grounds, with the exception of Championship side Preston, making it ideal for an extended live-testing stage.Top-flight clubs will be officially informed about the trial by the Premier League at its shareholders’ meeting in London today.SAOT and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) have not been used in any of the previous rounds of the competition to ensure a “consistent refereeing approach for all clubs taking part in the same stage of the competition”.Most read in FootballJOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUSThis led to several controversial decisions, including Harry Maguire’s last-gasp winner for Manchester United against Leicester in the fourth round which would have been ruled offside with the help of technology.It is hoped the tech will reduce the waiting time for offside decisions to be made if VAR is introduced by more than 30 seconds.VAR ruined Coventry’s iconic FA Cup moment with offside decision in semi-final – but was technically CORRECTCamera footage and special tracking software are used to calculate the position of players at the moment of a potential offside, removing the need for VAR teams to manually add lines to still images.During Everton’s dramatic 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the last-ever Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, James Tarkowski’s last-gasp equaliser took four minutes before it came to a decision. Scholes had previously admitted to being sceptical until seeing recent improvements. He said: “I have to confess, given the difficulties that we had over the first few months of the season [with SAOT testing] I had severe doubts.”But the progress made over the last four to six weeks has been significant. “We believe we’re going to be adopting the best system and the most accurate system.”FA Cup fifth round draw in fullHere are all the games from the next round in the FA Cup…Preston North End vs BurnleyAston Villa vs Cardiff CityDoncaster/Crystal Palace vs MillwallManchester United vs FulhamNewcastle vs Brighton and Hove AlbionBournemouth vs Wolverhampton WanderersManchester City vs PlymouthExeter City/Nottingham Forest vs Ipswich Town More

FANS have been left raging AGAIN over the lack of VAR in the fourth round of the FA Cup.Several matches this weekend have been impacted by controversial refereeing decisions, with officials in Stockley Park not in place until the next round of the competition.Blackburn star Dominic Hyam was seemingly onside when he headed in at the back postCredit: BBCHarry Maguire’s goal was allowed to stand as the linesman did not spot the offsideCredit: ITVThere has been debate over whether Newcastle’s goal did cross the line or notCredit: BBCManchester United beat Leicester 2-1 on Friday thanks to Harry Maguire’s last-gasp header, which was incorrectly not flagged for offside.On Saturday, Chelsea claimed there were two handballs in the build-up to Kaoru Mitoma’s winner and Birmingham had earlier also felt hard done by a lack of technology.Newcastle were awarded a goal against the Blues when it was unclear whether the whole ball had crossed the line or not.The controversy continued into Sunday as Blackburn had a goal chalked off for a debatable offside against Wolves.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLDominic Hyam headed home at the back post from a free-kick and replays showed that Hwang Hee-chan looked to have played him onside.The incident occurred when the game was goalless and Wolves scored twice almost directly after to win it 2-0.It led to Blackburn fans joining in the fury, with one saying: “No VAR makes you realise just how bad the referees are.”Another added: “Robbed, should be one up, poor decision.”Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSBBC commentator Chris Sutton highlighted the inconsistencies after Blackburn’s disallowed strike, saying there was no flag for Maguire when he looked “three miles offside”. It comes after United boss Ruben Amorim admitted: “The goal was offside. We should have VAR. It should be here to overturn the decision. It’s hard on Ruud, it’s hard on the opponent.”BBC makes half-time innovation in FA Cup clash between Leyton Orient and Man CityThe FA explained the lack of VAR in a statement, which read: “This decision ensures that there is a consistent refereeing approach for all clubs taking part in the same stage of the competition.”Chelsea felt Tariq Lamptey deliberately handled the ball in the build-up to Brighton’s winnerCredit: ITVKaoru Mitoma may have controlled it with his arm before finishingCredit: ITVHow Blackburn 0-2 Wolves unfolded By SunSport’s Martin BlackburnMATHEUS CUNHA gave another reminder of why Wolves were so desperate to keep him in January.Despite links to Arsenal and Manchester United, the Molineux board stood firm and handed him a new four-and-a-half year contract earlier this month.Joao Gomes opened the scoringCredit: ReutersMatheus Cunha was the star of the show againCredit: ReutersHe celebrated that with a goal against Aston Villa last weekend and was on target again here to help Vitor Pereira’s men into the fifth round.Cunha and fellow Brazilian Joao Gomes struck within the space of a minute in the first half to bring a touch of Samba magic to a freezing day in East Lancashire.The talk among home fans in the build-up to the game was about an approach from Derby for John Eustace – which is believed to appeal to the Rovers boss.On the face of it, the idea of swapping a team in the play-off positions for one in the relegation zone looks a puzzling one.Yet his team have lost seven of their last 11 league games to leave their position in the top six much more precarious.He was also frustrated by a lack of support from the board in January, suggesting the new signings who did come in were made by the club rather than him.Even so two of them – Yuri RIbeiro and Emmanuel Dennis – were handed debuts here and were among eight changes made by Eustace.Another new arrival – winger Augustus Kargbo – blazed an effort over the bar but was causing the visitors defence a real headache down the left.And the Championship side thought they had a lead which would not have flattered them as Dominic Hyam nodded in John Buckley’s swirling free-kick at the back post.Celebrations were cut short by the linesman’s flag but replays showed they were hard done by and VAR would almost certainly have seen the goal stand.Minutes later live-wire winger Kargbo burst into the box and went down under a challenge from Emmanuel Agbadou.Referee Lewis Smith whistled but instead of pointing to the spot he booked the Rovers new boy for a dive.It was looking promising for Rovers but in the blink of an eye, the tie changed and before long they had a mountain to climb.Todd Cantwell lost possession and Wolves worked it well with Hwang Hee Chan picking out Joao Gomes in the box.The forward’s shot lacked any conviction but still squirmed under second choice keeper Balazs Toth and crept over the line for his third of the season.  It was a poor goal to concede and Rovers were still feeling sorry for themselves when they shipped a second just over a minute later.  This time it was an impressive move as Rodrigo Gomes and Nelson Semedo worked it out to Cunha on the right.His first time shot flashed past Toth at his near post – although again the Hungarian keeper might have been disappointed.There is no doubting the quality of Brazil international Cunha though – no wonder Wolves moved to protect their investment by giving him a lucrative new deal earlier this month.Rovers could have gone under but came close to grabbing one back before the break with Sam Johnstone saving smartly from Dennis at his near post.And after the break, Cantwell swapped passes with Amario Cozier-Duberry but lifted his shot high over the bar.READ MORE SUN STORIESBut Rovers efforts fizzled out and it was Wolves who looked more likely to add to their tally with Toth making a full stretch save to tip away Cunha’s long range effort.Sub Pablo Serabia flicked an effort over the bar and put another into the side-netting but in the end it didn’t matter. 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