Help may be at hand to rule on dicey goals

DECADES after the invention of spy satellites capable of detecting a golf ball from outer space, referees may soon be equipped with technology that will enable them to tell if a football has crossed the goalline.

After years of debate which has moved at a glacial pace, world football chiefs are close to sanctioning goalline technology after a string of high-profile refereeing controversies. Fifa’s rules body – the International Football Association Board (Ifab) – is expected to give the thumbs up to goalline technology at a meeting in Kiev in July following the European Championships.

Ifab is currently assessing two different systems bidding to be approved as authorised suppliers of goalline technology, one from British company Hawk-eye and the other from German-danish firm Goalref.

Both companies’ systems are undergoing rigorous testing ahead of the Ifab meeting, and Hawk-eye was due to be used in a live-match situation yesterday when Eastleigh and AFC Totton face each other in the Hampshire Senior Cup final.

Former English referee Neale Barry, a member of the Ifab subcommittee assessing the relative merits of the systems, believes the use of goalline technology is inevitable.

Barry attended testing at Southampton’s St Mary’s stadium, which was expected to host yesterday’s match, and is keen for referees to be given the support of technology.

“The international board first started looking at the technology in 2005,” said Barry.

“The technology has moved on greatly since then when you look at Hawk-eye and the quality of their cameras.

“I think really there has been the attitude that we should really try to help the referees for this very, very factual decision. The ball is either over the line or it isn’t. It is not a matter of opinion – it is a matter of fact.

“We’re trying to give the referee as much as help as we can, assuming the technology works and we can get it licensed, but we’re very, very positive.”

Hawk-eye deploys six cameras at each end of the stadium to calculate a three-dimensional position of the ball.

Goalref uses a chip placed in the centre of a football which will be picked up by sensors installed in the goalmouth.

With each system, the referee will be alerted by a signal transmitted to a wristwatch within one second of any goalmouth incident whether the ball has crossed the line.

Both systems could be available later this year if they meet with Ifab approval in July.

Steve Carter, the managing director of Hawk-eye, is adamant that his company’s technology will make refereeing controversies such as Geoff Hurst’s 1966 World Cup final goal a thing of the past.

“The testing process has been exceptionally rigorous and whichever system is approved, every football fan can sleep easy at night knowing they are accurate,” said Carter.

“At the moment all of our concentration and energy is on doing as well as we can, making the technology as good as possible and making sure that we get excellent results from phase two.”

Meanwhile, Barry is sceptical of the argument that any introduction of goalline technology will be the thin end of the wedge, leading to video replays being used to rule on issues of offside or foul play.

“I’ve been on Ifab for seven years and it is a very, very conservative organisation,” said Barry. “I’d be astonished if we go to other forms of technology. In my personal opinion, I don’t think we will ever get to that point.” — SAPA-AFP