World Cup 2010: FIFA finally considering Goal Line Technology
The FIFA World Cup 2010 has not been without its fair share of controversies. From the Jabulani ball to some mistakes by referees, there is a serious need for goal line technology to be introduced to the game. FIFA recently announced that they would be strongly considering using goal line technology for the next World Cup to be held in Brazil. Why has it taken so long and what were the reasons behind introducing it?
There are two reasons why FIFA and its president, Sepp Blatter, are considering using goal line technology. The first took place during England's match against Germany in the round of 16. A clear goal by Frank Lampard was disallowed by the referee and it proved to be the turning point of the game. England went on to lose that match by 4 goals to 1. The second incident that took place was when Carlos Tevez of Argentina was clearly in an offside position and scored against Mexico. The incident was replayed on the screen right after it happened and the fans in the stadium as well as the referees and the players, all saw it. The referee, though, allowed the goal to stand and Argentina went on to win the game, knocking Mexico out of the tournament. Both of these incidents were points when the top ranking officials of FIFA sat up and took notice.
The incidents were so monumental that they forced Sepp Blatter to personally apologise to both England and Mexico for the mistakes made by the referees. He apologised and the apologies were accepted by both countries. During the statement made to the press about the apologies, Blatter also said that in light of the very obvious mistakes by the referees in both matches, it would be ludicrous not to open up the debate on goal line technology again. The reopening of the debate was a long time coming and it took two mistakes in two different matches to finally change FIFA's mind about the situation. We cannot really blame the referees because they are all older than the players and they are not able to run as fast as them and things happen so quickly on a football pitch that a referee cannot always see everything at once. This is why the debate is being reopened on goal line technology.
With the debate being reopened and discussions under way it seems that the first real bit of news on the matter has come to light. The first tournament to feature changes to the refereeing system could be the London Olympics in 2012. There is even talk that goal line technology could be featured in the tournament, which will be a great testing ground for how well the technology works before the next World Cup in 2014. It is a good sign that FIFA is willing to discuss the topic once again and has not closed the door on this very important aspect of the game.
There are two technologies being discussed and FIFA has already heard proposals from both companies providing the technology. The first is Cairos goal line technology. Basically this innovative system uses technology by the companies Cairos and Adidas. Cairos has designed a system that will have magnetic resonance technology in the goal posts and there will be a sensor in the ball. Whenever the ball crosses the goal line a signal will be sent to a special watch worn by the referee which will tell him that a goal has been scored. The other technology being proposed is Hawk Eye, which is used widely in both cricket and tennis. This has different high resolution cameras that triangulate the proposed direction a ball travels in. Both these technologies have positives and negatives and it is up to FIFA to now decide which one to use.
The reason why goal line technology is so important is summed up very well by the tennis great Roger Federer. He stated that he thought it was imperative to use goal line technology, because one goal in football can change the whole course of the game. In tennis, the loss or gain of one point is not that much of a big deal in the long run of the entire match, but it is extremely important in football where some games only have one goal at most. It seems that the top brass at FIFA should listen to the tennis star because he seems to be making a lot of sense.
Whether FIFA decides to implement goal line technology or not, the game of football will still be one of the world's best sports. Adding technology to it will only enhance it and not take anything away from its beauty and style. It is high time the rules were changed and it is good that there is talk in that direction.
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