Technology kicked into touch - Inside World Football

By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich

March 6 – Football’s traditionalist lawmakers today slammed the door permanently shut on goalline technology, in the process over-ruling both the English and Scottish FAs who were adamant it should have been given further investigation.

The annual meeting of the International FA Board, comprising FIFA and the four home associations, voted 6-2 to outlaw technology for good in a move that will be considered at best short-sighted and, at worst, highly damaging for the credibility of the game.

It had been widely anticipated that after years of debate, Thierry Henry’s infamous handball last November would kick-start the debate to help referees make game-changing decisions.

But football’s custodians instead voted against both Hawkeye, used successfully in cricket and tennis, and a highly sophisticated microchipped ball system developed in Germany by Cairos and Adidas.

Instead they decided to consider whether to extend the more “human” experiment of two extra officials, trialled during this season’s Europa League.

“It’s the end of the potential use of technology in football,” said FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke.

“It was put on ice two years ago.

“Now it is being stopped.”

Valcke said the decision was made not because of any problems with the two experimental systems but based on a principle of not using technology at all.

“Let’s keep the game of football as it is,” he said.

In a recent poll of players in the Europa League, 70 per cent saw no improvement as a result of two extra officials while 90 per cent preferred goalline technology.

The FA chief executive Ian Whatmore agreed that ending all discussion over technology was a bad move.

“We support the idea of investigating an experiment into its use,” Watmore said.

“It is not a clearcut case.

“The credibility of football has always improved when we get critical decisions right.

“I think there is enough evidence and enough quality of technology to do an experiment we could have learned from.”

Scottish Football Association (SFA) chief executive Gordon Smith, who voted with the English, was clearly incensed after the four-hour meeting at FIFA’s snowbound headquarters in Zurich.

His mood was not helped by his Welsh and Northern Irish counterparts siding with FIFA to leave technology permanently on the backburner.

“I’m in favour of technology,” said Smith.

“I think if there’s anything that improves the decision-making of the referee, if it’s simple and can be used at the time, then I have nothing against it.

“Referees suffer because of technology – because of television replays.

“If there was technology in place, it would actually stop referees having to suffer from bad decisions.

“It’s only whether the ball’s over the line or not.

“I felt we should be taking it forward.

“We should be looking beyond this human element side of it because the human that suffers the most when the decision is incorrect is the referee.

“And the fans suffer and a certain team suffers.”

Cairos spokesman Oliver Braun blasted IFAB for being unfair and shortsighted.

“It’s frustrating for us because we have developed this system over so many years,” he said.

“IFAB encouraged us to develop the system.

“They set up some criteria and said that if they were met, they would go with the technology.

“For them to come back and say in principle we don’t want to use any technology, that’s frustrating.

“If they had said that before it would have saved a lot time, effort and money.

“The solution to these incidents is here.

“It’s not an issue that the technology is not working.

“It is working but they don’t want to use it.

“They decide what’s best for football.

“All the fans, clubs, players and managers say something different but IFAB have the power to do that and we have to live with it.”

While technology is now outlawed for good, the alternative system of two extra officials - one behind each goal - moved a step closer.

Michel Platini’s pet plan has been given the thumbs down by players and managers alike but IFAB will nevertheless decide, at an extraordinary meeting in mid-May, whether to carry on with the idea next season though it cannot be used at the World Cup.

At the same meeting, the IFAB will also decide whether to give the fourth official more power in decision-making and whether to soften the triple punishment of penalty, red card and suspension when blatant goalscoring opportunities are prevented.

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