Fans made to wait almost EIGHT minutes for offside check during Bournemouth v Wolves | OneFootball

Despite semi-automated offside technology being used for the first time in FA Cup games this weekend, fans at Bournemouth v Wolves had to wait over seven minutes for an offside goal check.

The goal in question was scored by Dean Huijsen in the 34th minute. It then took almost eight minutes for officials to look at the clips, deliberate the decision and ultimately rule the goal out.

Fans of both sides in the stadium chanted ‘this is embarrassing”, which it was. Information on the FA’s website says that “the expected average reduction of decision time in close offside calls with semi-automated offside technology is approximately 30 seconds”.

This would certainly have been a dampener for the officials who campaigned for the technology to be brought in. Initial reports suggested the technology wasn’t working which is why it took so long, but it was also later said that officials had to check for offside and a potential handball.

Whatever the situation, a wait of over seven minutes is unacceptable for both fans and players. For high-level athletes who have been sprinting at full-tilt to then stand around idly for eight minutes in the middle of a half greatly increases the risk of muscle injuries.

The game ultimately went to extra-time and then penalties, with Bournemouth running out eventual winners.

Keith Hackett, former PGMOL chief, speaking to Football Insider, said: “The question that you have to ask after this complete fiasco is what amount of testing have they carried out with the installation and operation of the system. Eight minutes borders on the ridiculous.

“Match officials are becoming slaves to technology and it is impacting negatively on their performances and spectator enjoyment. Incidents where you are waiting eight minutes are unacceptable.”

The technology is still in the embryonic stage, but clearly requires more work before it can be implemented into the Premier League.