SuperSport HNL will get a more modern VAR offside display from the 2026/27 season, but not semi-automated technology
The SuperSport Croatian Football League is entering a new phase in the use of video technology in the 2026/27 season, but the change will not mean a complete technological revolution of the kind seen at the world's biggest competitions. According to information published by Sportske novosti and reported by tportal, matches in the top tier of Croatian club football are expected to receive a more modern version of the VAR system, with an emphasis on a clearer television display of offside. The most visible novelty for viewers will be 3D graphics that will show more clearly in broadcasts the position of the attacker and the last relevant defender in disputed situations. This is intended to reduce room for misunderstanding decisions, especially in moments when the difference between an allowed and an illegal position is very small. For referees, video assistant referees and technicians, according to the same information, everyday work in the VAR room will not change significantly because the procedure in which reference points are determined will continue to be used, after which the system draws a virtual offside line.
The change comes in a season which, according to the official schedule of the Croatian Football Federation, begins on 1 August 2026 and ends on 22 May 2027. The official HNS competition platform states that ten clubs will compete in the 2026/27 season: GNK Dinamo, HNK Gorica, HNK Hajduk, HNK Rijeka, NK Istra 1961, NK Lokomotiva, NK Osijek, NK Rudeš, NK Slaven Belupo and NK Varaždin. In such a format, every decision connected with a goal, penalty kick or offside can have a significant sporting and financial effect, because the battle for the title, European places and survival in the league is often decided by small margins. Precisely for this reason, the way in which VAR decisions are presented to the public has become almost as important as the technical check itself. A more modern graphic display does not remove all doubts, but it can help viewers understand more quickly why a goal has been awarded or disallowed.
What exactly is changing in the television broadcast
The central change concerns the visualization of offside, not a completely new model of officiating. According to the report by Sportske novosti, SuperSport HNL already uses the EVS Xeebra VAR system, while a newer software version of it is expected to arrive from 2026. The difference should be seen most on screen: the offside line should be clearer, graphically more refined and shown in a format that reminds viewers of solutions familiar from UEFA Champions League broadcasts. Such a display is especially important in situations in which a static two-dimensional line does not provide a sufficiently intuitive impression of the position of players' bodies. In practice, this would mean that the viewer gets a clearer image of the same review process, and not necessarily an automatically faster or radically different refereeing decision.
In its description of the Xeebra system, EVS states that the technology is used for multi-camera video reviews, slow-motion footage and virtual offside lines, with machine-assisted pitch calibration. The company points out that the system can generate a virtual offside line in real time and that it is certified under FIFA's quality programme for offside technology. This is important because offside is not judged only by the position of the feet, but by every part of the body with which a player can legally score a goal. In the classic VAR procedure, the technician and referees must choose the exact moment when the ball is played, then determine the relevant points on the players' bodies and check whether the lines have been placed correctly. More modern graphics can make that procedure more understandable for the public, but they do not change the basic rule: the final decision is made by the referee.
Why a 3D display is not the same as semi-automated offside
In public discussions about VAR, three different concepts are often mixed together: the classic virtual offside line, a 3D graphic display and semi-automated offside technology. The announced change in SuperSport HNL, according to the available information, concerns modernized graphics and a software-enhanced display, but not the introduction of semi-automated offside. FIFA's semi-automated offside system works differently: data on the positions of players and the ball are processed automatically, the video referees then confirm the proposed decision, and the same data are converted into a 3D animation that is shown to viewers. For the 2022 World Cup, FIFA announced that this process enables faster and more precise decisions, because the automatically determined moment of the pass and the offside line are checked manually before the information is communicated to the referee on the field. For now, according to information from Sportske novosti, such a system is not being introduced in SuperSport HNL.
The difference is not only technical, but also infrastructural. Semi-automated offside requires a large number of cameras placed in appropriate positions, stable structural conditions in stadiums, reliable synchronization of all signals and often additional technology in the ball. Sportske novosti stated that the system used at major international competitions required special chips in the ball and a larger number of cameras, while some stadiums in Croatia currently do not meet the conditions for such an installation. According to the same source, the cost would amount to around 200,000 to 250,000 euros per stadium for the season, which would mean a multimillion-euro expense for the entire league. For that reason, the announced modernization can be described as a significant step for television clarity and transparency, but not as a transition to the most advanced model of automated offside review.
Goal-line technology remains outside the plan
Another technology often mentioned in the same context is goal-line technology, a system that automatically determines whether the ball has fully crossed the goal line. According to information from Sportske novosti, that system is also not currently planned for SuperSport HNL. The reason is again a combination of cost and infrastructure, and the stated estimate for goal-line technology is around two million euros. For a league in which the quality of pitches, floodlighting conditions, stand capacity and television production have been discussed in parallel for years, such a decision shows that modernization is being introduced gradually, where a visible effect can be achieved without a complete reconstruction of the stadium and production network.
Goal-line technology has a different function from VAR because it deals only with the binary question of whether the ball crossed the line. VAR can check goals, penalty kicks, direct red cards and mistaken identity, but in goal-line situations without specialized technology it still relies on the available television angles and the referees' assessment. The IFAB protocol stipulates that VAR is used only in clearly defined situations and that the final decision is always made by the referee, either on the basis of information from the VAR room or after reviewing footage at the side of the pitch. This means that even a more modern graphic display of offside will not turn VAR into an autonomous decision-making system. Its task is to remain an auxiliary mechanism, while responsibility for the decision remains within the refereeing hierarchy.
Broader context: from the introduction of VAR to a new phase of transparency
The Croatian Football Federation began preparations for the introduction of VAR technology back in the period after FIFA's decision to use the system at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In 2018, HNS presented the project as part of a strategic programme, with financing from the FIFA Forward programme and cooperation with holders of television rights and technical partners. At the time, the federation emphasized that VAR makes sense only when matches are recorded with a sufficient number of cameras and when infrastructure, technology and trained referees are ready for the strict FIFA and IFAB protocols. At the beginning of 2020, HNS announced that it had received the necessary permission from IFAB to begin using VAR in Croatian football, after extensive preparations and final training. Since then, VAR has become a standard part of the most important matches in national competitions, but also a constant topic of discussion after disputed situations.
The biggest challenge is not only the accuracy of the decision, but public trust in the process. When offside is given because of a difference of a few centimetres, viewers look for visual proof that they can understand quickly. If the display is unclear, slow or technically insufficiently convincing, the correctness of the decision itself often remains in the shadow of debate about the way the decision was made. That is why more modern graphics can have an important communicative role, even if they do not change the refereeing protocol. In football, the perception of fairness is often decisive for the acceptance of technology, and a display that clearly shows the position of the players' bodies can reduce the number of situations in which viewers are left without an understandable explanation.
What the new graphics can and cannot solve
A more modern offside display can help in situations in which the geometry of the decision needs to be explained to viewers. If the lines are clearer, if the perspective is better and if the players' positions are shown more convincingly, the television broadcast gains a stronger tool for interpreting disputed moments. This is especially important for the international audience that follows the league from outside Croatia, for fans who watch the match without local context and for media outlets that later analyse decisions. In that sense, 3D graphics are not only an aesthetic addition, but part of a broader process of standardizing sports broadcasting. Football competitions are increasingly striving for decisions not only to be made, but also to be shown in a way that is clear enough for different audiences.
Still, the new graphics cannot remove all disputed points. With offside, the question of the exact moment when the ball is played, the choice of the relevant body part and the quality of the available cameras remain. If the key moment is not recorded well, if the camera angle is not ideal or if the player's body is obscured, even the best display cannot create data that does not exist in the original footage. In its explanations of offside technology, FIFA points out that automated systems can speed up the process, but that complex situations still exist which require additional review and refereeing assessment. SuperSport HNL will, according to the available information, remain on a system in which the key points are marked in the VAR room, which means that the quality of human work will remain decisive. More modern software can increase clarity, but it cannot completely remove the need for expert interpretation.
For clubs and viewers, the change comes at a sensitive moment
The 2026/27 season brings a new competitive cycle in which, according to the official HNS platform, matches will be played from 1 August 2026 to 22 May 2027. In a calendar with 36 rounds and ten clubs, every disallowed goal or every confirmed decision after a review can affect the final standings. Clubs fighting for European competitions, for the championship title or for survival in the league will have an additional interest in the system being not only functional, but also transparent. For that reason, communication with the public will be especially important in the opening rounds in which the new display is used. If viewers quickly understand what the new graphics show, the modernization could reduce some of the debates that arise because of unclear camera shots and insufficiently understandable lines.
On the other hand, expectations will need to be set carefully. A more modern VAR display does not mean that all decisions will be faster, that there will be no more mistakes or that debates about refereeing criteria will be abolished. The IFAB VAR protocol clearly limits interventions to situations involving a goal, penalty kick, direct red card or mistaken identity, with the criterion of a clear and obvious error or a serious missed incident. For that reason, some disputed situations will remain outside the reach of VAR intervention. Technology can help with precision, but it does not change the fact that football includes interpretation, contact, dynamics and decisions made in the context of the game.
Gradual modernization instead of a sudden transition to the most expensive systems
The announced modernization of SuperSport HNL shows a model of gradual investment. Instead of introducing semi-automated offside and goal-line technology in full scope, the league is currently directing itself toward a solution that most improves television comprehensibility. Such an approach has financial logic because it does not immediately require equipping all stadiums with expensive installations, while at the same time it brings a visible shift in the way decisions are presented to the public. In European football, the differences between leagues are not only sporting, but also infrastructural: some competitions have modern stadiums with roof structures suitable for advanced cameras, while other leagues have to adapt their technological ambitions to existing conditions. With this change, SuperSport HNL is moving closer to higher production standards, but it remains on a model that is more realistic for the current stadium network.
For viewers, therefore, the most important thing will be to understand the limits of the new technology. From the 2026/27 season, they can expect a clearer and more attractive offside display, but not an automatic system that independently detects every disputed position. They can expect more modern graphics in the broadcast, but not goal-line technology, which is currently not planned. They can expect better communication of decisions, but not the end of debates about refereeing. Within such a framework, the new VAR display represents an important but measured step: it increases transparency and raises the quality of the broadcast, while leaving the most expensive technological upgrades for a period in which stadiums, financial models and television production will be able to support a broader step forward.
Sources:
- Sportske novosti – report on the more modern version of VAR in SuperSport HNL, the 3D offside display, the costs of semi-automated offside and goal-line technology (link)
- tportal – summary of the announced change to the VAR system in SHNL from the 2026/27 season and the context of the television offside display (link)
- Croatian Football Federation, Semafor – official data on the 2026/27 SuperSport Croatian Football League season, clubs and competition schedule (link)
- Croatian Football Federation – explanation of the project to introduce VAR technology into Croatian football and financing through the FIFA Forward programme (link)
- Croatian Football Federation – announcement on receiving IFAB permission to begin using the VAR system in Croatian football (link)
- IFAB – official VAR protocol and principles for the use of video assistant referees (link)
- FIFA – explanation of semi-automated offside technology and the way data are converted into 3D animation for stadiums and television broadcasts (link)
- EVS – description of the Xeebra multi-camera system for video assistance and virtual offside lines (link)