Referees’ boss opposes video check on goals

EUROPE’S referee chief Volker Roth is opposed to the use of video replays for goal-line decisions but he does see potential in a new idea to put a microchip sensor in the ball.

"I look positively at new aids if they help us along if, for example, we could send a signal to a referee's wristwatch," Roth, chairman of UEFA's referees committee, said yesterday. "But I don't like instant video replays. Football is a fast-flowing game, which should not be chopped up or constantly interrupted."

Football's lawmakers will be given a presentation of a new ball containing a microchip sensor when the International Board meets in Cardiff next month. However, there is no proposal to consider the use of video or microchip technology.