In a previous article, I had discussed GoalRef and Hawk-Eye and how FIFA should modernize the sport of soccer by allowing technology to help make the correct calls. On Thursday, July 5, 2012, FIFA joined the NFL, NHL, tennis and cricket by allowing technology to enhance the sport. This is a huge step forward for a sport that was lacking in this one category.
The International Football Association Board (I.F.A.B.) is the governing body of FIFA that deals with the rules of soccer at its highest level. With the vote that the board held on July 5, goal line technology required 6 out of 8 votes to pass, and both technologies were given strong support and approval. Four of the votes are assigned to the I.F.A.B. with the other four reserved for the British association; which consist of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
It only seems fitting that England was involved in the voting, given that the English national team has been directly involved in the three international games that have had the most controversial decisions regarding goals. These games were the 1966 World Cup final against West Germany, the 2010 World Cup round of sixteen match against Germany, and the 2012 Euro Cup round robin game against the co-host, Ukraine.
The Hawk-Eye system will use six cameras in each net in concert with software that calculates the ball’s trajectory. A signal will be sent to the referee to notify them the moment the ball is deemed to have crossed the goal line. GoalRef uses a hyper lightweight chip in the ball along with several sensors within the goal to send a similar signal to the referee.
The aforementioned technology will be introduced in December of this year in Japan when the country hosts the Club World Cup, a tournament consisting of the 6 continental winning clubs. FIFA will also introduce them in Brazil for the 2013 Confederations Cup and 2014 World Cup. There they will hopefully help referees make the correct calls in the world’s largest soccer tournament. The English Premier League (EPL)is interested in using one of these two technologies in their games, but the cost of modifying the fields could be up to $250,000 per stadium. Major League Soccer could also follow suit as they are said to be considering it strongly.
Overall, this seems like a more suitable decision as compared to UEFA’s choice of using 5 referees, 2 of which would be on the goal lines to see if the ball crosses the line. Clearly this 5 referee system was a failure during England’s game against Ukraine during the European Championships. Thus far the 5 body system does not appear to be dissolved by FIFA’s governing body. It will only be a matter of time to see what system will be most effective, but until then it’s a great day in soccer and fans of the beautiful game.
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