League to back Hawk-Eye technology in goal-line decisions
Hawk-Eye systems are used to judge dubious line calls in tennis, and also in television coverage of international cricket.
Referees’ chief, Keith Hackett, and Premier League general secretary, Mike Foster, will present proposals to the International FA Board meeting in Manchester tomorrow.
Hackett’s video presentation will include the Manchester United versus Tottenham game two seasons ago when goalkeeper, Roy Carroll, spilled a long-range shot from then-Spurs midfielder, Pedro Mendes, over the line — but a goal was not given.
Hackett said: “We are working with Hawk-Eye in order to seek approval from the International FA Board to run an experiment to test out a version of goal-line technology.
“We believe we are putting forward a strong proposal that underlines what is available and how we want to experiment to gather data to accurately determine the quality of the product.
“We are suggesting a possible alternative to the other proposals with a reputable business company, Hawk-Eye, which already operates in top-level tennis and cricket.
“The system operates with cameras and computers linked directly to the referee, providing immediate information without interference, so we believe it fulfils all the criteria.”
The Premier League believe around 10 matches in the top flight have an incident where goal-line technology could clarify whether the ball had crossed the line or not.
Hackett said it was often impossible for assistant referees to have the correct viewing angle to judge.
He added: “I will demonstrate to the IFAB the example of Manchester United versus Tottenham two seasons ago where there was a shot from a long distance.
“The brief for the assistant referee is to stand level with the last defender, and for him to have also been in the correct position to judge whether the ball had crossed the line . . . well, he would have had to be an Olympic 100m record holder to have been in that position.”
Some purists believe goal-line technology is a step in the wrong direction, but Hackett is insistent the time has come for the game to modernise — but only in terms of judging whether it is a goal or not.
He said: “Football is ultimately about scoring goals and the question I would ask is would people be happy with the World Cup final, the most prestigious match there is, being decided by an inaccurate result? We want goals to be a decision based on fact, not opinion.”
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