Barwegan has already worked with the system during the Club World Cup, including on the touchline for Botafogo’s meeting with Paris Saint-Germain. The report says the technology uses cameras to track players and can alert assistant referees when an offside position is clearly detected.
At that tournament, a gap of more than 10cm between attacker and defender was treated as clearly offside. Tighter situations prompted “delay”, while unclear incidents left the assistant referee to make the call without an automated message.
Barwegan’s assessment is positive, but carefully measured.
“Its accuracy is amazing at that,” he said, describing the system’s performance on straightforward offside decisions.
The crucial point for Barwegan is that automation does not remove responsibility from the officials. Assistant referees must still track the defensive line, judge when an attacker becomes involved and understand the phase of play.
“As such, our job stays exactly the same,” he said.
That means the technology is being positioned as a support tool rather than a replacement for on-field judgement. A computer may identify the offside position, but officials remain responsible for interpreting the moment and communicating the decision.
Barwegan also explained why human reactions remain valuable, even when the system is highly advanced. Officials can anticipate a developing offside situation and communicate their initial view before the automated prompt arrives.
“The computer has to think, and it's super fast, but [on the field] it feels like forever,” he said.
That blend of instinct and technology will be tested repeatedly in 2026. Barwegan’s experience in Botafogo’s Club World Cup match offers a useful preview, but the World Cup will bring greater pressure, faster transitions and far more scrutiny. The next storyline will be whether semi-automation can deliver quicker decisions without making the human element of officiating less important.