UEFA wants goal technology decision delay
Reuters - Saturday 30 June 2012, 16:30
UEFA wants the International
Board, the game's law-making body, to postpone Thursday's
expected decision authorising goal-line technology and start
further debate on the matter, general secretary Gianni Infantino
said on Saturday.
UEFA President Michel Platini, a well-known opponent of
using technology to help determine if a goal has been scored,
also reiterated his opposition on Saturday following a UEFA
executive committee meeting in Ukraine's capital.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB),
comprising the four British associations and four members from
FIFA, is expected to sanction the use of technology when it
meets in Zurich on July 5.
UEFA have been experimenting with a five-man refereeing
team, including two assistants who stand behind the goal, and
UEFA want IFAB to endorse their system at the same time as
delaying any decision on technology.
"We have evaluated 1,000 matches at the highest level and
Pierlugi Collina, [UEFA's refereeing officer] showed us all the
situations and benefits following three years of tests," said
Infantino.
"The executive committee of UEFA unanimously agreed to issue
a statement for full support for this system and to request to
IFAB and FIFA to allow the five referees to officiate in the
future.
"The results from these 1,000 matches were extremely
positive and there was just one serious mistake. Unfortunately
it happened during these Euros as we all know, but there was
unanimous support.
"The executive committee is asking FIFA and IFAB to start an
open debate about technology in football involving all
stakeholders before any decision is taken in this area."
The one mistake came during Ukraine's match with England
when a shot from Marco Devic appeared to be over the line before
being hooked clear by England's John Terry.
Despite that, Platini said he remained opposed to using
technology in the game.
"I am not just wholly against goal-line technology, I am
against technology itself because then it is going to invade
every area of football.
"The goal between England and Ukraine - it was a goal, OK? -
and it's a mistake from the referee and he didn't see it. But
there was an offside before then so if they have given offside
we wouldn't have had the goal.
"So why don't we have technology for offside decisions as
well. And what about Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal in
1986, why don't we have technology to see if Maradona handled
it? Where does it stop? It won't stop. I am against technology
itself."
The debate about goal-line technology has lasted for most of
the last decade, but IFAB is expected to endorse two systems on
Thursday - the Hawk-Eye and GoalRef systems - which have passed
stringent tests to the satisfaction of the Board.
The Hawk-Eye system is a British one based on cameras while
GoalRef - a Danish-German development - uses magnetic fields.
Each system is required to send an immediate message to a
watch worn by the referee within one second of the ball crossing
the line.
Any amendment to the law needs at least six of the eight
members of IFAB to vote in favour which is widely expected to be
the case in Zurich.