FIFA: Technology to be used at World Cup
Reuters - Tuesday 19 February 2013, 11:51
Goal-line technology will be used at the 2014 World Cup and two more
systems could be considered in addition to the existing pair, football'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.
LAMPARD CONTROVERSY
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 football'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 football'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.