You might have missed this caught up in all the match action today, but it's potentially a big piece of news. The International Association Football Board (IFAB) today approved two different goal line technologies for final testing. They are hoping if all goes well a system could be in place for the Club World Cup in December and definitely for the next FIFA World Cup in Brazil in 2014.
One system by Sony called Hawk-eye is a camera based system that has been used for Cricket and tennis. The other system is called GoalRef, and it employs a magnetic field. GoalRef is owned by a German/Danish company. Both systems would send an electronic signal to the referee within a second of the ball crossing the line. FIFA is adamant that the final call would still rest with the referee.
According to the ESPN Soccernet article, Sepp Blatter has softened his stance on this technology after Frank Lampard's disallowed goal against Germany in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Hopefully one of these systems will work well and can be used. It's a step in the right direction. Competitions would be still allowed to use the 5 referee system employed in the Champions League as well.
In related news, FIFA has also ruled that women playing soccer may wear the hijab headscarf if it is their Islamic belief. They also withdrew a motion to allow a 4th substitute in extra time.
Final approval of the goal line systems could come in early July.
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