Goal-line technology

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Parts of this article (those related to http://metro.co.uk/2013/04/02/fifa-choses-
goalcontrol-4d-for-goal-line-technology-trial-3579577/) are outdated. Please
update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (April
2013)


The Adidas Teamgeist II with implanted chip, part of the proposed Cairos-Adidas system for goal-line technology


Goal Control technology with seven high-speed cameras for each goal
In association football, goal-line technology (sometimes referred to as a Goal Decision System
[1]
)
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 awarding a goal or not.
The objective of goal-line technology (GLT) is not to replace the role of the officials, but rather to
support them in their decision-making. The GLT must provide a clear indication as to whether the
ball has fully crossed the line, and this information will serve to assist the referee in taking his final
decision.
[2]
In the wake of controversial calls made in the Premier League, 2010 World Cupand
the Euro 2012, FIFA (previously against the technology) tested potential candidates for goal-line
technology. Nine systems were initially tested, but only two remain.
On 5 July 2012, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) officially approved the use of
goal line technology. The two systems approved in principle were involved in test phase
2: GoalRef and Hawk-Eye. In December 2012, FIFA announced it would introduce goal-line
technology in a competitive match for the first time at the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup in Brazil.
Starting in 2013, in the United Statestechnology has been used in Major League Soccer. However
MLS' Canadian teams do not use them in their home games due to the lack of funding. Goal-line
technology was also implemented for the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil whereby the
GoalControl system was installed in each of the 12 stadiums.
[3]

Contents
[hide]
1 Background
2 The role of IFAB
3 Initial testing
o 3.1 Cairos GLT system
o 3.2 Goalminder
o 3.3 GoalRef
o 3.4 Hawk-Eye
4 IFAB discussion of candidate technologies
5 Second phase of testing
o 5.1 GoalRef
o 5.2 Hawk-Eye
6 Introduction
7 Final Installation Test
8 2014 World Cup
9 Criticism
o 9.1 Human element is lost
o 9.2 Cost
10 See also
11 References
Background[edit]
The question of 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 Ikpeba's 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.
[4]
Cameroon went
on to win the shootout and thus the Trophy of African Unity.
Interest was ignited in the United Kingdom after a game between Manchester United and Tottenham
Hotspur in January 2005, in which Tottenham midfielder Pedro Mendes hit a shot 55 yards from
goal. United goalkeeper Roy Carroll caught the ball and then dropped it at least a yard over the line
before hitting it back out, but neither the referee nor thelinesmen saw the ball cross the line.
[5]
In
response to this, FIFA decided to test a system by Adidas in which a football with an
embedded microchip would send a signal to the referee if it crossed a sensor going through the
goal.
[6]
According to FIFA president Sepp Blatter, "We did different tests at the Under-17 World Cup
in Peru but the evidence wasn't clear so we will carry out trials in junior competitions in
2007".
[6]
However, those trials did not materialise and by 2008, Blatter had rejected the system
outright, describing the technology as 'only 95% accurate'.
[6]

Another incident occurred in August 2009 in a league match between Crystal Palace and Bristol
City. Striker Freddie Sears knocked the ball over the line from close range, but the ball bounced off
the stanchion below the net and then came back out. The goal was not given and Palace
manager Neil Warnock was furious.
[7][8]
In March 2010, the International Football Association Board,
which determines the laws of the game, voted 6-2 to permanently ditch the technology, with the
Scotland and England football associations casting the dissenting votes. In a recent poll of 48
captains in the UEFA Europa League, 90% of respondents said that they wanted goal-line
technology introduced.
[9]
Following several refereeing errors at the 2010 FIFA World Cup including
the disallowed goal in Germany's 41 victory over England, when Frank Lampard hit a shot from
outside of the penalty box that bounced off the crossbar and over the line; the ball came back out
and the goal was disallowed because the assistant referee did not call for a goal
[10]
Blatter
announced that FIFA would reopen the goal-line technology discussion.
[11]

Another instance of a controversial call was Chelseas 21 victory over Tottenham in 2011. Frank
Lampard hit a shot just before halftime that slipped through the legs of
Tottenham's goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, and almost crossed the line before being tipped back into
play, however the assistant called for a goal and Chelsea equalised before going on to
win.
[12]
Chelsea were credited with another goal that did not cross the line against the same
opponents in the 2012 FA Cup semi-finals, leading again to calls for goal-line technology.
[13]

Before Euro 2012, UEFA president Michel Platini dismissed the need for goal-line technology,
instead arguing for placing additional assistant referees behind the goal. However, in a Group D
match with Ukraine losing 1-0 to England, the on-field Hungarian officials, Viktor Kassai and Istvn
Vad did not see Ukraine's Marko Devi's shot briefly cross the line before it was cleared by
England's John Terry.
[14]

The role of IFAB[edit]
As with all changes to the Laws of the Game, IFAB must sanction the use of goal-line technology.
Six votes are required to make any changes. FIFA holds four votes and each of the world's first four
football associations carries one vote. These are England's The Football Association, the Scottish
Football Association, the Football Association of Wales andNorthern Ireland's Irish Football
Association.
Initial testing[edit]
In July 2011, FIFA sanctioned tests on ten goal-line technology systems, requiring that the system
notified the referee of the decision within one second of the incident happening. The message
needed to be relayed via a visual signal and vibration.
[15]
Tests were conducted by Empa between
September and December 2011.
[16]

Cairos GLT system[edit]


Graphic of the Cairos System
Produced by a German company Cairos Technologies AG, alongside Adidas, the GLT system used
a magnetic field to track a ball with a sensor suspended inside. Thin cables with electrical current
running through them are buried in the penalty box and behind the goal line to make a grid. The
sensor measures the magnetic grids and relays the data to a computer which determines if the ball
has crossed the line or not. If the ball does cross the line, a radio signal is sent to the referee's watch
within a second. Adidas designed a ball that could suspend a sensor and keep it safe and intact
even when the ball is struck with great force.
[17][18][19]
Cairos claims the process is practically
instantaneous, addressing critics' concerns that the technology might slow down the game. An older
system developed by Cairos was trialled at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, but was found
not to be fast or accurate enough.
On February 25, 2013, FIFA granted a licence to Cairos Technologies AG, enabling them to provide
goal-line technology for use in FIFA-sanctioned competitions.
[20]

Goalminder[edit]
The Goalminder system has two co-founders, Harry Barnes and Dave Parden, who first thought of
the system after their favourite team, Bolton Wanderers, was relegated due to a wrongly disallowed
goal. The technology was not picked up at the time, but after Frank Lampards disallowed goal in
the 2010 World Cup, interest in goal-line technology spiked causing FIFA to investigate the
possibility of sanctioning goal-line technology. The technology uses high-speed cameras built into
the goal posts and cross bar to record images at 2000 frames per second and deliver visual
evidence to the referee, in less than five seconds, to settle goal-line controversy. With this
technology there is no calibration: just visual evidence. The system is thought to be cheaper
because less expensive cameras will be needed and the field will not have to be dug into.
[21][22]

GoalRef[edit]
Main article: GoalRef
GoalRef features a passive electronic circuit embedded in the ball and a low-frequency magnetic
field around the goal. Any change in the field on or behind the goalline is detected by coils
embedded in the goal frame, which determine the scoring of a goal.
[23]
By producing low magnetic
fields around the goals, GoalRef creates the radio equivalent of a light curtain. As soon as the ball
has wholly crossed the goal line between the posts, a change in the magnetic field is detected. A
goal alert is then instantaneously transmitted to the game officials using an encrypted radio signal,
with a message displayed on their wristwatches.
[24]

Hawk-Eye[edit]
Main article: Hawk-Eye
The Hawk-Eye system was first developed in 1999. Hawk-Eye is an existing technology currently
used in cricket, tennis and snooker. It is based on the principle of triangulationusing the
visual images and timing data provided by high-speed video cameras at different locations around
the area of play. The system uses high frame rate cameras totriangulate and track the ball in flight.
The software calculates the balls location in each frame by identifying the pixels that correspond to
the ball. The software can track the ball and predict the flight path, even if several cameras are being
blocked. The system also records the ball's flight path and stores it in a database that is used to
create a graphic image of the flight path, so the images can be shown to commentators, coaches
and audiences. The data from the system can also be used to determine statistics for players and
analyse trends.
[25]
The proposal involves placing seven cameras for each goal mouth around the
stadium.
[26]
The system is near real-time and referees will be notified on their encrypted watch in less
than one second from the ball crossing the line. Critics of the system claim the system will slow
down the game and that the statistical margin of error is too large.
[27]
Both Roger
Federer
[28]
and Rafael Nadal
[29]
have criticised the accuracy of the system in tennis (though Roger
Federer now supports the use of the system in football).
[30]

IFAB discussion of candidate technologies[edit]
On 3 March 2012, IFAB announced that 2 of the 9 proposed systems had proceeded to the second
stage of testing.
[16]
These were Hawk-Eye and Goalref.
Second phase of testing[edit]
In the second phase of testing, the manufacturer of the technology will choose a stadium to test its
technology in a number of imagined scenarios. Testing will also be conducted in professional
training sessions and in laboratories to account for different climatic conditions and other magnetic
field distortions. Tests on the watch to be worn by referees would also be undertaken. Tests must
also undergo testing two competitive matches.
GoalRef[edit]

This section is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or
newly available information. (March 2013)
The German-Danish GoalRef technology is likely to undergo match testing in two Danish
Superliga matches on 23 May 2012.
[31]

Hawk-Eye[edit]
The first match to use the Sony-owned Hawk-Eye goal-line technology was Eastleigh
F.C. versus A.F.C. Totton in the Hampshire Senior Cup final at St Mary's
Stadium,Southampton in England on 16 May 2012. Although it used Hawk-Eye, the system had no
bearing on the referee's decisions and the system readings were only available to FIFA's
independent testing agency.
[32]
The system was also in place for the technology's second test on 2
June for England's friendly match against Belgium