Why the System Is Only Semi-Automated
Even a flawless measurement does not produce a decision, because being in an offside position is not an offence. The offence requires that the player in that position becomes involved in active play, by interfering with play, interfering with an opponent, or gaining an advantage from a rebound or a deflection. Those are interpretive judgments about intent, sightlines and effect on a goalkeeper, and no tracking system evaluates them.
Other judgments sit outside the geometry as well. Which touch starts the phase. Whether a defender's contact was a deliberate play that resets the situation or an unintentional deflection that does not. Whether an opponent was affected at all. The technology answers a narrow geometric question and hands the answer to officials, who decide whether it describes a punishable offence. The human sign-off is also an accountability mechanism, since decisions in football are made by named officials who can explain them rather than by a process nobody in the stadium can interrogate.
