Goal-line technology approved by FIFA

Updated July 06, 2012 07:20:06

Goal-line technology to confirm whether or not the ball has crossed the line has been approved by world soccer's rule makers, ending a decade of debate and controversy.

The International Football Association Board approved the use of two different technology systems which FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said would be used at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

"We have decided to use the system at the Club World Cup in Tokyo (in December), at the Confederations Cup (in 2013) and the 2014 World Cup," Valcke told reporters.

The IFAB also approved the use of five-man refereeing teams, featuring an extra linesman behind each goal-line in addition to the two on the touchlines.

These have been used on an experimental basis recently in several competitions including the Champions League and Euro 2012.

Pioneered by UEFA, the system was credited at Euro 2012 with reducing the amount of pushing in the penalty area as well as cutting down on players attempting to win penalties by diving.

"The IFAB has been around since 1886, it's been the guardian of the laws of the game all that time, it has developed slowly, conservatively and carefully to try and improve the game on a worldwide basis," said Patrick Nelson, a board member from Northern Ireland.

"The decisions we made today are all ones which will be long-lasting and will resonate throughout the world and they have been taken very carefully."

"The IFAB has made some very good, fundamental and momentous decisions here today," added Jonathan Ford from Wales.

Goal-line technology will be used in incidents where it is impossible for match officials to determine with the naked eye whether the ball has crossed the goal line.

These would include cases where it bounces down off the underside of the crossbar and is cleared away by a defender.

Pressure has been growing on soccer's governing body following a series of high-profile incidents over the years where teams have not been awarded goals even though the ball has clearly crossed the line.

The most prominent was at the 2010 World Cup when Frank Lampard's infamous phantom goal for England against Germany in the 2010 World Cup finals was disallowed when it was clearly over the line. Germany, leading 2-1 at the time, went on to win 4-1.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter told the BBC: "We didn't have accurate systems in the past, after what happened in South Africa, I have to say 'thank you Lampard', it took me a day to recover, I was really down and shocked."

Valcke said two systems had been approved, Hawk-Eye, which is used in tennis and cricket and is based on optical recognition with cameras, and GoalRef, which uses a magnetic field with a special ball to identify a goal.

He said that competition organisers would be free to use either system, the only two of ten initial candidates to pass FIFA's rigorous testings.

However, systems would have to pass another test at every stadium in which they were installed.

The decision was made despite an appeal from UEFA president Michel Platini who said it would open the way for the further use of technology.

"We are not considering any more technological advances here, we are only looking at technology on the goal line," said the English FA's Alex Horne.

"We do not think its appropriate for technology to creep out onto the field to interfere with other decisions, anything beyond goal line technology decisions begins to undermine the authority of referees."

The IFAB comprises four representatives from the British associations, who hold one vote each, while FIFA has four more votes.

FIFA also announced a ban of the Islamic headscarf, or hijab, for Muslim women footballers would be lifted.

The garment had previously been banned due to safety concerns and because it was not recognised in the laws of the game.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) unanimously overturned the ban and agreed to re-write the laws after studying reports from FIFA's medical officer.

"Safety and medical issues have been removed for the use of the headscarf and it is approved that players can have the head scarf," Valcke said.

Reuters

Tags: sport, soccer, soccer-world-cup, brazil, united-kingdom

First posted July 06, 2012 06:41:41

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Goal-line technology a must: Blatter

Updated June 20, 2012 22:57:09

FIFA boss Sepp Blatter said on Wednesday that the introduction of goal-line technology is a must after Ukraine's apparent equaliser against England in their final Euro 2012 group match was not awarded.

"After last night's match #GLT is no longer an alternative but a necessity," the president of football's world governing body Sepp Blatter wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

Blatter has frequently stated his position in favour of technology to determine disputed decisions, setting him at odds with his counterpart at European football's governing body UEFA, Michel Platini.

Platini this week told reporters in Warsaw that the five officials currently being used in Euro 2012, including two on the goal-line, would prevent any repeat of controversial incidents.

He again said that technology was a slippery slope towards its use for every decision, including off-side and handball.

But the five officials at co-hosts Ukraine's final group D match with England in Kiev on Tuesday were under scrutiny after Marko Devic forced a save from Joe Hart in the 62nd minute and John Terry cleared off the line.

Television replays suggested that the ball had crossed the line for a goal but Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai waved play on.

"The result of the match turned on a gross error by the officials who didn't give the Ukrainian goal," Ukraine's Sport-Express newspaper said on its website on Wednesday.

"And it all happened with five officials, two of whom were in charge of seeing whether a ball crosses the line."

It had not been the case the previous evening when Italian striker Antonio Cassano benefited from a sharp-eyed fifth official who correctly called that his header had crossed the line in the 2-0 win against Ireland.

FIFA is currently trialling two prototypes of goal-line technology, one from British firm HawkEye, which uses a series of cameras in stadium roofs to track the trajectory of the ball and another from German firm GoalRef, which uses sensors.

Both have been tested in match conditions in recent months, with monitors observing the performance of HawkEye during England's pre-Euro 2012 warm-up game against Belgium at Wembley stadium.

Also on Wednesday, UEFA's chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina, admitted the goal should have been given.

"The ball crossed the line. That was unfortunate," Collina told a news conference in the Polish capital, Warsaw, the day after the match in Donetsk that England won 1-0.

Collina blamed human error for the call but said two similar decisions in the 24 matches so far played in the tournament had been correct, adding: "The third, unfortunately, was wrong."

AFP

Tags: sport, soccer, soccer-world-cup, ukraine

First posted June 20, 2012 22:11:18

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