Right on the eve of the tournament
VAR offsides could be banned from Euro 2024 due to UEFA being taken to court just weeks before the start of the tournament.
Euro 2024 begins on June 14 when host nation Germany play Scotland before England kick off their campaign two days later.
However according to The Sun, a tech firm has received a court date to apply for an injunction 11 days before Euro 2024 begins to stop offsides being used by the European football governing body after claiming they had copied their idea.
Dutch company Ballinno has filed the lawsuit against UEFA and German ball-tracking experts Kinexon and said that they have used the technology without their permission.
If the injunction is granted, UEFA may have to scrap VAR offsides.
Ballinno claims they were granted a patent for a ‘method and system for detecting an offside situation’ back in 2011. They also state that they proposed the idea of inserting a chip in balls to alert an earpiece worn by officials when a player has strayed offside.
The court hearing will take place in Hamburg on June 3 which means that the FA Cup and Champions League finals won’t be affected.
A spokesperson from UEFA told The Sun: “We cannot comment as such on ongoing litigation matters. However, UEFA is not overly concerned by Ballinno’s application.”
Premier League to vote on VAR
VAR uncertainty comes at a time when Premier League clubs are set to vote on the use of VAR going forward.
Wolves tabled a motion to get VAR scrapped altogether after being left frustrated by the number of decisions that went against them.
Top flight clubs will vote at the shareholders’ meeting next month and need 14 of the 20 sides to vote against VAR for it to be scrapped.
Premier League sides voted in favour of introducing semi-automated offside technology being used next season, reducing the amount of time it will take to determine if a player is on or offside.
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