DECIDING whether a ball crossed the goal line has long been an issue in football. Not anymore. The controversies — using technology instead of the naked eye, and the other about whether indeed a goal has been scored – have both come to an end. Football's governing body FIFA has given the green light to two systems that will ascertain whether a ball has crossed the line. Goal-line technology will make its debut at the Club World Cup in December, and it is likely to be brought into the English Premier League next season and is certain to be used at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. FIFA boss Sepp Blatter all but conceded that the time had come to enter the 21st century. Blatter has for years been dead set against any sort of soccer gadgetry, arguing that such technology would take away the human element of the game. But refereeing blunders in the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 were the straws that broke Blatter's back. Blatter had called for a system which was accurate and fast; he now gets what he wanted. GoalRef uses a microchip inside the ball whereas Hawkeye uses ultra high-tech cameras. Both systems transmit a signal to a special watch worn by the referee to inform him whether a goal should be given. Such controls would have definitely picked up some of the world's most glaring gaffes, the most famous being Geoffrey Hurst's 1966 World Cup shot that hit the West German crossbar. The referee called it a goal but to this day the Germans insist the ball did not cross the line. The last World Cup featured a moment of embarrassment when England's Frank Lampard had a goal disallowed even though it had clearly traveled some two feet over the line in a defeat to Germany. It seems extraordinary that the entire planet saw Lampard's goal except the referee and his two assistants — and they were on the field. It was high time FIFA admitted that referees need help. Their assistants, whose prime responsibility is to see a ball cross the goal line, are sometimes inexplicably unable to pick up balls which have crossed the line by a country mile. Despite the technology, soccer will certainly still have its embarrassing moments. There are scenarios other than goals that will not be covered by the technology. Thus, handballs like Diego Maradona's Hand of God and Thierry Henry's that put France instead of the Republic of Ireland into the World Cup will continue to go undetected. Similarly, penalty decisions for fouls and red and yellow cards will not be reviewed. Technology has long been used in tennis and cricket but Blatter had hoped to keep the human element in the game, mistakes and all. His philosophy was that technology should not enter into the game so that we can “appreciate the human side... the debate, the controversy.” That won't do. Players, coaches and fans have had enough of games being blighted by incorrect decisions over goals. The ultimate aim of football is scoring goals, so there's no greater injustice than when you have scored and it's not allowed, or you have not scored and it is allowed.
