Goal-Line Technology

Goal-Line Technology

The world of sport is continually changing over the years, and the use of technology is just one of those areas that have made an impact on many sports in the modern day. One criticism of the use of technology is that it can slow down the speed of the game, but on the other hand for many people it makes watching it more enjoyable to see the correct decisions being made.

Here, I want to have a little talk about Goal line technology.

Goal-line technology is a method used to determine when the ball has completely crossed the goal line with the assistance of electronic devices and at the same time assisting the referee in calling a goal or not. Not to replace the role of the officials, but rather to support them in their decision-making.

The inclusion of goal-line technology began to be raised in 2000 as a result of a penalty shootout during that year's Africa cup of nations final, when Victor Ikpebas penalty for Nigeria against Cameroon was deemed by the referee not to have crossed the line after deflecting off the crossbar. To the contrary, television replays showed that it had. Cameroon went on to win the shootout and thus the Trophy of African Unity. There's nothing more infuriating than seeing your team robbed by an incorrect decision by a referee or linesman.

One facet of football (soccer) where such mistakes routinely happen is where the ball hits the bar and bounces down on the line. The question the officials are faced with is which side of the line did it bounce down onto? I have sympathy for linesmen who are faced with making a split judgment from a distance, but having sympathy is not the same as saying that nothing should be done to reduce instances of wrong decisions.

Well talking of recent blunders of not having a goal line technology was Frank Lampard's disallowed goal in the world cup quarter final against Germany. If there was any doubt that the referee made the wrong decision in disallowing Frank Lampard's World Cup goal today, virals sweeping the internet have put it to rest.

Frank Lampard's disallowed goal against Germany

Within hours of England's disastrous 4-1 loss, the internet was awash with references to the controversial decision, including one doctored image featuring a white line showing just how far the ball had made it past the goal posts. Another prankster on social networking site Twitter, with a user name of 'Queen UK', tweeted: ‘Find out where that referee is from. And get MI6 on the phone.'

As so, the technology was successfully trialed by Fifa at the 2012 Club World Cup and the Premier League says it is in advanced talks with two unnamed providers. Hawk-Eye and GoalRef were both used at last year's Club World Cup, but the Premier League has not named the companies it is in talks with.

Fifa has already said it plans to use the technology at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

By: Suman Shrestha