Argentina approves vanishing spray
Reuters - Wednesday 10 December 2008, 15:51
BUENOS AIRES - Argentina will use a
vanishing spray in first division games next year in an attempt
to stop defensive walls from creeping forward at free kicks.
The spray has been used on an experimental basis in the
second division for the last six months and the Argentina
Football Association (AFA) has now approved its use in the top
flight, officials said on Wednesday.
Referees pace the regulatory 9.15 metres between the ball
and the nearest defender and then spray a white line on the
pitch to mark the correct position of the wall.
The line then disappears from the pitch within a minute.
Referees carry the spray in a small aerosol can weighing 115
grams.
Pablo Silva, a sports journalist who invented the spray and
has worked with chemical engineers to develop the product, said
the idea came to him when he was foiled at a free kick during an
amateur game several years ago.
"In the 88th minute, we were losing 1-0 and won a free kick
on the edge of the area. When I took the kick, the wall was
three metres away," he told Reuters earlier this year.
"The referee didn't book anyone and didn't do anything.
"We lost the game and, driving home later with a mixture of
anger and bitterness, I thought that we must invent something to
stop this."
A spray has been used in some competitions in Brazil in the
last few years for the same purpose. Silva said the products
were different and had been developed separately.