Football Weighing Up Goal-line Technology

The International Football Association Board, which governs the laws of the
game, is pressing forward with plans to experiment with goal-line technology.

At a meeting held this weekend in Manchester, the IFAB set down criteria for
all future experiments with the technology which must meet four principles
before it can be introduced.

Firstly, the technology can only apply to goal-line technology; the system
must be 100% accurate; the indication of whether the ball has crossed the line
must be instantaneous between the technology and the referee; and finally the
signal must be communicated only to match officials.

At the meeting, the board also received one presentation from adidas and
Cairos who have developed a microchip that goes inside the ball and a further
one from the FA Premier League and Hawk-Eye, the technology firm which run
similar systems in cricket and tennis, on two different options that could
potentially be adopted.

FA chief executive Brian Barwick said: ‘We all believe that goal-line
technology is the way to move forward. If we are going to introduce it, it has
got to be 100% accurate.’