At the start of the tournament Closing 2026 of Mexican soccerthis Friday the Liga MX launched a semi-automatic technology system to determine offside, used in European tournaments such as the English Premier League and the European Champions League.
“We are taking a decisive step that will allow us to make offside decisions more fair,” said Mikel Arriola, commissioner of the Mexican Football Federation (FMF).
“We are moving towards a more modern and reliable football,” Arriola stressed when presenting the Semi-Automatic Offside System (SAOT).
The SAOT is a network of 28 state-of-the-art cameras installed in each of the 17 stadiums of the Mexican first division.
This system works based on artificial intelligence technology called GeniusIQ that generates a digital replica of each play, precise and in real time.
“The system will produce massive 3D data output that will allow us to run a full recreation of the match and automate the offside decision,” explained Sean Conroy, executive vice president of Genius Sports for North America, provider of the service.
He SAOTwhich does not replace VARis considered semi-automatic because, according to a statement from Liga MX, “FIFA does not allow the software to make the final decision on its own.”
“The system generates the evidence, but always requires a final validation from the VAR operators,” the document details.
This tool will not be used to rate other types of plays that could generate controversy such as penalties, goals or expulsions.
“With the implementation of SAOTthe review process becomes much easier and faster,” said former Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo, technical director of the FMF Referees Commission.
After a testing period carried out during the last Apertura 2025 tournament, Liga MX is the first to implement this technology in America.
The use of the SAOT system in Mexican soccer requires an investment of 1.43 million dollars per season.
