Premier League eyes goal-line tech for next season

Posted Sunday, March 04, 2012 by YAHOO Sport

The Premier League is considering using goal-line technology in matches from the start of next season in August, with feasibility studies taking place even before the definitive decision by football’s rule-makers in July.

The International Football Association Board on Saturday rejected six devices and approved two for a final round of testing in match scenarios before either can be sanctioned for use in competitive fixtures.

If IFAB is satisfied with the speed and accuracy of Hawk-Eye or GoalRef to serve as aids for referees when it meets on July 2, the Premier League’s 20 grounds would have just six weeks to instal the technology.

The English Football Association, which is one of eight IFAB members, said that timeframe would likely be too short for the teams to test and calibrate a system for use in competitive matches.

But the Premier League is more optimistic, having been a long-time advocate of goal-line technology.

We welcome the moves by FIFA and we would like to introduce it as soon as practically possible,league communications director Dan Johnson told The Associated Press on Sunday.

The league has already invested in Hawk-Eye’s development of a device for football and also plans talks with GoalRef ahead of the IFAB decision. The discussions could ensure a deal is in place to allow the league to act swiftly after the vote in July.

Sony Corp.’s Hawk-Eye is a camera-based ball-tracking system successfully deployed in tennis and cricket. GoalRef, owned by a German-Danish company, uses a magnetic field with a special ball.

Both systems send a signal within a second of the ball crossing the line to the referee, who will retain the power to make the final call.

FIFA is hopeful one of the systems will be ready for use at the Club World Cup in December in Japan, where Hawk-Eye’s owner is based.

FIFA’s support for goal-line technology had wavered over the years until a high-profile blunder at the 2010 World Cup convinced President Sepp Blatter that it was a necessity to avoid any further embarrassments at major tournaments.

A shot by English midfielder Frank Lampard in a game against Germany at the World Cup in South Africa bounced off the crossbar beyond the goal line but did not count as England was knocked out of the competition.