Goal Line Technology Gets the OK

After numerous successful scientific tests in Zurich, FIFA has at long last given its blessing to the use of goal line technology. Two systems were unanimously backed by the International Football Association Board Thursday. Hawk-eye, the first system, is a British system currently used in Tennis and in Cricket. Hawk-eye is a camera based system where six to seven cameras are installed at different points around the the stadium all pointed at the goal. The cameras will be able to take pictures of the exact location of the ball, whether behind or in front of the line, and send them to the referee in a flash. The second system is a German-Danish system called GoalRef that uses magnetic strips to detect where the ball is. The strips, placed in the outer lining of the ball, will be detected by sensors inside goalposts and also at the crossbar and will send out electronic waves that will be disrupted when the ball has completely crossed the line. A message will then be sent by computer to the referee to review. This all sounds a little complicated but both systems will be able to provide accurate results in the blink of an eye. According to Sepp Blatter, FIFA began to take the subject of Goal Line Technology seriously after the very controversial "goal" of Frank Lampard at World Cup 2010.  A similar incident also occurred recently at Euro 2012 which resulted in Ukraine being eliminated from the tournament. These are only two of several incidents where referees have made bad calls. There are those who are opposed to goal line technology, UEFA president Michel Platini leading the pack. Platini argues that this is just the beginning of the technology invasion in soccer. Many others believe this way, saying technology will slowly begin to push referees completely out of the game. But I say we wait and see. For now, it is an exciting development that sounds promising and I think we should just leave it at that.