How many times have you seen your team robbed of a goal because of a dodgy refereeing decision? Too many times I am guessing. Some of the big errors including the famous “goal” by Pedro Mendes against Manchester United spring instantly to mind.
The bosses at FIFA seem to have been trying to avoid helping referees with technology for a long time now, but it looks like the change is finally going to come soon. FIFA President Sepp Blatter was traditionally seen as one of the fiercest opponents of bringing more technology into football, but following some high profile mistakes at the 2010 World Cup he changed his stance on the matter and decided to get some trials done on the subject.
It has been reported that they are going to give more trials to possible goal line solutions, after some 10 early models failed to cut the mustard. There is an International Football Association Board annual meeting in Wales this weekend and the recent FIFA trials will be discussed in depth there.
It seems that the first trials, including the Cairos microchip ball from Adidas, were a failure, as they didn’t prove to be as accurate or fast enough to meet the criteria which has been set. The guidelines for any device are that it has to be completely accurate and also give a decision within a second. The Hawk-Eye system used in tennis wasn’t present in the trials but will be included in future ones.
The FIFA General Secretary, Jerome Valcke, has been quoted in the last few days as saying that the world governing body is still committed to getting the right device which will give a lasting solution to the age old problem of the ball bouncing on the line and back out. He also suggested that if a solution could be found then they could try it out in an English stadium first.
Now, what would have happened if Hawk Eye technology had replaced the Russian linesman back in 1966 and had spotted the Frank Lampard goal in 2010?
Source: T3.com
