Friday 2 March 2007

The Premier League WILL back video technolgy at tomorrow's board meeting

Premier League chiefs will urge the sport's rule-makers this week to consider using video technology pioneered by Hawk-Eye to end uncertainty over goal-line decisions.

Hawk-Eye systems are used to judge dubious line calls in tennis, and also on television coverage of international cricket.

Referees' chief Keith Hackett and Premier League general secretary Mike Foster will present proposals to the International FA Board meeting in Manchester on Saturday.

Hackett's video presentation will include the Manchester United v Tottenham two seasons ago when goalkeeper Roy Carroll clearly spilled a long-range shot from then-Spurs midfielder Pedro Mendes over the line but a goal was not given.

Hackett said: 'We are working with Hawk-Eye in order to seek approval from the International FA Board to run an experiment to test out a version of goal-line technology.

'We believe we are putting forward a strong proposal that underlines what is available and how we want to experiment to gather data to accurately determine the quality of the product.
'We are suggesting a possible alternative to the other proposals with a reputable business company, Hawk-Eye, which already operates in top-level tennis and cricket.

'The system operates with cameras and computers linked directly to the referee, providing immediate information without interference, so we believe it fulfils all the criteria.'

The Premier League believe around 10 matches in the top flight have an incident where goal-line technology could clarify whether the ball had crossed the line or not.

Hackett said it was often impossible for assistant referees to have the correct viewing angle to judge.

He added: 'I will demonstrate to the IFAB the example of Manchester United v Tottenham two seasons ago where there was a shot from a long distance.

'The brief for the assistant referee is to stand level with the last defender and for him to have also been in the correct position to judge whether the ball had crossed the line - well he would have had to be an Olympic 100m record holder to have been in that position.'

Some purists believe goal-line technology is a step in the wrong direction but Hackett is insistent the time has come for the game to modernise, but only in terms of judging whether it is a goal or not.

He said: 'Football is ultimately about scoring goals and the question I would ask, is would people be happy with the World Cup final, the most prestigious match there is, being decided by an inaccurate result? We want goals to be a decision based on fact, not opinion.'

FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who is the most important member of the IFAB, has made it clear he supports the introduction of goal-line technology.

Blatter said: 'When a goal is scored the goal should be given - this is a priority and there must be a system.'

The IFAB will also hear updates from other experiments - the one being championed by adidas is a `smartball' system with a micro-chip inside the ball, while the Italian and French federations are proposing separate systems using cameras linked to computers

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