TOP PUNDITS like Gary Neville and Alan Shearer were given a lesson on the laws of football by refereeing chiefs.

SunSport has learned stars from all of the major broadcasters were invited to a conference call with PGMOL boss Howard Webb and the Premier League’s director of operations Tony Scholes last month.

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The Prem called the briefing due to their desire for broadcasters to be fully informed over how VAR will operate this season amid frustration at errors made during commentaries last term.

Over 70 pundits from all of the top-flight’s domestic rights holders, Sky Sports, TNT Sport and the BBC attended.

Webb is understood to have provided reminders about the laws of the game, interpretations by referees, as well as changes to how VAR will be used, while Scholes gave an update on various off-field issues including the football calendar.

Summer meetings with top-flight managers have been held for years.

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But this was the first time a conference call has been held just for pundits.

A similar briefing was also given to broadcasters.

The Prem are promising quicker decisions, fewer interventions from VAR and more backing for the on-field ref’s judgement.

Webb is also committed to greater transparency and has pledged to give fans more big-screen replays in stadiums, while offering “near-live” explanations of VAR calls on social media platform X.

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The explanations were used throughout the opening weekend of the Premier League.

They covered issues in the matches, such as Eberechi Eze's ruled-out goal for Crystal Palace against Brentford.

Howard Webb’s six-point VAR plan

Here is Webb's six-point plan to help VAR...

1. Improve clarity for the threshold of VAR intervention

2. Reduce delays

3. Improve fan experience

4. Improve VAR training and consistency

5. Be more transparent

6. Educate and communicate

There has also been a number of rule changes made to the competition this season.

This includes the ability to allow more substitutes to warm up on the touchline.

There will also be more accurate calculations for added time in matches.

A big change will come in after one of the international breaks as semi-automated offsides will be implemented.

The technology is powered by artificial intelligence and promises to "minimise breaks in the game and deliver accuracy".

This should help referees manage games more smoothly and with less controversy.

What are semi-automated offsides?

PREMIER LEAGUE clubs have voted in the use of semi-automated offsides from the 2024-25 season.

The technology tracks 29 different points on the body of every player.

Together with a chip in the football, the tech then can produce almost instantaneous decisions, even on the tightest of calls.

These are then visualised with computer-generated 3D images which clearly show the offence on a screen for fans watching the broadcast from home.

Referees on the pitch will need to step in and intervene if the offside call is subjective - ie the player in an offside position does not touch the ball.

Here's how it works:

• Each ground will have up to 12 special cameras with limb-tracking technology.
• These will focus on 29 goal-scoring body parts from every player on the pitch and will record their position 50 times per second.
• During the World Cup in Qatar, the microchip in the ball sent back data points 500 times every second to determine the  precise instant it was played by an attacker OR a defender
• That allowed the computer technology to alert the VAR that a player was in an offside position when the ball was played
• But all decisions were then checked to ensure the attacker was interfering with play
• The average time for an offside call in Qatar was cut to 25 seconds per incident
• In future, a 3D animation will “show” the decision to fans in the stadium and via broadcasters, and this will be available by the next stoppage in play after the decision.