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.

Officials failed to notice that the ball had crossed the line by a metre in last week's game between Manchester United and Spurs.