It’s a goal! Eh, no it’s not. Frank Lampard’s effort clearly crossed the line in England’s 2010 World Cup game against Germany, but officials never gave it. The high-profile incident was one of a number that contributed to FIFA’s rethink on introducing goal-line technology.
Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Liverpool to win the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday once again brought up the subject of goal-line technology.
Controversy surrounded a late header by Reds substitute Andy Carroll, which was clawed away by goalkeeper Petr Cech.
While on first impression it looked like the ball had crossed the line, replays seemed to indicate that it hadn’t fully gone over. It seems the right call had been made, to the credit of officials.
After Chelsea’s “ghost goal” in its FA Cup semifinal matchup with Tottenham Hotspur last month —when replays confirmed the ball had not actually crossed the line during their 5-1 win — it was announced by world governing body FIFA that the final phase of goal-line technology tests were to be soon completed and a definitive decision would be made on July 2.
The International Football Association Board, soccer’s rule-making body, said it approved two different systems to go into a second round of testing in game scenarios.
The two are Hawk-Eye and GoalRef. Sony’s Hawk-Eye is a camera-based, ball-tracking system and is one many sports fans will already be familiar with, as it is successfully used in tennis and cricket.
The first match to use the technology will be next week when Eastleigh plays AFC Totton in the Hampshire Senior Cup final at St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton in England on May 16.
The system will have no bearing on the referee’s decisions during the amateur contest and the readings will only be available to an independent testing agency.
GoalRef, meanwhile, is owned by a German-Danish company and uses a magnetic field with a special ball.
It is likely to undergo match testing in two Danish Superliga matches, or one league match and Denmark’s friendly against Australia on June 2.
Both systems send a signal within a second of the ball crossing the line to the referee, who then has the power to make the final call.
FIFA has four members on the board of IFAB, with the others provided by the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Changes to the laws of the game must be agreed by at least six of the eight delegates.
