Soccer
FIFA confirms goal-line tech
2013-02-19 15:30
Zurich - Goal-line technology will be used at
the 2014 World Cup and two more systems could be considered in addition
to the existing pair, soccer's world governing body FIFA said on
Tuesday.
Two systems, Hawkeye and Goalref, have so far been
licensed by FIFA and both were used at last year's World Club Cup in
Japan, one in each of the two stadiums, where goal-line technology was
employed for the first time.
FIFA said a third system, developed
in Germany, had already passed examinations and that the providers were
in licensing discussions. A fourth system, also German, has also been
tested with the results due this week.
FIFA confirmed goal-line
technology was "successful" at the World Club Cup, although there were
no incidents where it had to be used.
It intends to install goal-line technology at all 12 venues at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
"After a successful implementation of goal-line technology (GLT) at the
Club World Cup in Japan in December 2012, FIFA has decided to use GLT
at the Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 and 2014 World Cup," FIFA said in a
statement.
"The aim is to use GLT in order to support the match
officials and to install a system in all stadia, pending the successful
installation, and pre-match referee tests.
"With different
technologies on the market, FIFA has launched a tender today, setting
out the technical requirements for the two forthcoming competitions in
Brazil."
FIFA said Hawkeye and Goalref would have to join the selection process.
Goal-line technology providers had been invited to join an inspection
visit to the six Confederations Cup venues in March. Those venues will
all be staging matches at the following year's World Cup.
The use
of goal-line technology, to help match officials in cases where it is
not immediately clear if the ball has entered the goal, was approved by
soccer's rule-making body, the International Football Association Board
(IFAB), last year.
The use of goal-line technology had previously
been rejected by FIFA, which performed a U-turn following the
controversy over Frank Lampard's disallowed goal for England in the 2010
World Cup match against Germany.
Replays clearly showed that the
ball had crossed the line after bouncing down off the underside of the
crossbar, but match officials did not award the goal. Germany, 2-1 ahead
at the time, went on to win 4-1.
However, goal-line technology
is not favoured by European soccer's governing body UEFA, which instead
prefers to employ two extra linesmen, one on each goal line.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has already said that extra linesmen are unlikely to be used at the World Cup.
Many critics think that football should go further and allow the use of
video replays to help referees make decisions concerning offside,
handball and fouls.
Referees have to make split second judgments
with the naked eye while millions of television viewers are treated to
slow-motion replays, from different angles, which often show clearly
whether the official was right or wrong.