The International Football Association Board has finally unanimously approved the “Goal Line Technology” on the 5th of July under the chairmanship of FIFA president Joseph Sepp Blatter.
The technology was a topic of debate for the past few years, but it seems the tipping point was reached when a referee controversially overruled Marko Devic’s goal against England for Ukraine in the recently concluded Euro Cup 2012, which Spain eventually won.
The referee’s decision didn’t only cost Ukraine the match but also received a lot of criticism from across the globe including FIFA President Sepp Blatter who was immediately seen on twitter, tweeting out the following:
Still, the Goal Line Technology is not a knee-jerk reaction to such controversies but an informed choice taken after nine months of testing since August 2011, with two major firms specializing in this technology, including Hawk Eye and Goal Ref.
The technology has been accepted in principle though the same is required to be tested and approved for each stadium individually. Also the technology will only be used for the goal line and not any other areas of the game.
Talking about the technology being used by the two firms, Hawk Eye uses the triangulation method with the help of six cameras placed at optimum locations in the stadium; whereas GoalRef places a microchip inside the football and triggers a change in the magnetic field around the goal post. Both the methods can confirm a goal within a second to the referee.
