Goal Line Technology

[Awayday]

Hi

Not sure if anyone else saw this, but St Mary's (Southampton) have had goal line technology installed as a trial.

From what they had on in the local news, they have 8 cameras all up in the top of the stands facing the goal, along with this tracking camera thing built into the goal post. It is built and designed by the same people who do the cricket and tennis hawkeye technology.

First trials have been a success and the FA who were present seemed impressed with it thus far.

I guess it is now a case of when the ref can and cannot use it. From what was said, it was only going to be introdcued at first to determine whether the ball had crossed the goal line. Going forwards they want to use it for offside decisions and penalty claims.

Personally I think it is a good idea, the game is faster, wrong decisions have bigger consiquences but realistically who is going to pay for it all? Will it be a case of the Premiership have to have it installed and eventually filter down to lower leagues? Also who is going to be the hawkeye decision maker?

[Awayday]

oh Just found another article, it is being used during the Hampshire FA Cup game (Eastleigh v Totton - Dave no starting trouble again) in a couple of weeks.

[bixieupnorth]

waste of time and money, hardly ever happens, can understand video replays just about but how far down the pyramid is this gonna filter and who's gonna pay for it?

just leave the game how it is, controversial decisions are all part and parcel of our fantastic national game

what on earth will we talk about once everything is cut and dried?!

[stevegull]

Would only tolerate the use of technology for if the ball did or did not cross the line. That changes the course of a game by itself. I want, Goal, yes or no? then move on. If it wasn't a goal then restart with a goalkick. Keep your controversy with offsides and penalties, which i think refs get right a lot more often than they are given credit for.

[bixieupnorth]

my whole point is that it's a waste of money, it happens 3 or 4 times a year max, that's over the whole league not per club! can you think of more than one or two in recent memory involving tufc?

on the bigger stage, the Chelsea one the other day, lampard, the one at old Trafford for spurs, it's just not worth it. easier if you need to bother at all to quickly watch recordings of every game that occurs now anyway and decide major decisions like they do in rugby

personally I'd keep it as it is tho, I enjoy the unpredictable nature of football, and the swearing!

if they want to change one thing I'd allow goal scorers to celebrate for as long and loud as they want to!

[stevegull]

An admirable point Bix. However, personally i think it will be introduced at elite level competitions simply as there is so much riding on whether the ball did, or did not, cross the line.

[popside_yidlad]

It should be enforced throughout if at all. Football does not need the controversy that cricket is going through atm. With some nations opting in and out of the technology

[cambgull]

To be completely honest, the cost of this is nothing compared to what the Premier League spend on players each year. Torres and Carroll for £85 million? The entire cost of every club in the Football League to have this technology put in would come to not even a tenth of this cost and would still mean more goals than those two useless buggers have scored this season.

I'm all for it, I'd much rather have video replays for use when the referee is unsure (penalty decisions etc) but for now, this is a step in the right direction. Us English have been too often on the wrong end of poor decisions.

[Kernowgull]

I am not really for goal line technology. can you imagine how annoyed you'd be if ref makes two mistakes in a game. The first is that he misses the ball crossing the line from an opposition corner. The second, he wrongly disallows one of your sides goals for offside.

Goalline technology will correct one of these mistakes, but not the other, meaning you lose the match.

How is the ball crossing the line anymore important than any other mistake. Either we need to wipe out human error completely, or leave all elements of the game open to human error

[Bigman]

Not sure I agree with your argument Kernowgull, it's a bit like saying we can feed half the children of Africa, but then the other half will still be hungry, so let's not bother feeding any of them.

And if the ball crossing the line is your goal, so technology would win you the match rather than drawing it, would that make it better?

I think goal line technology is perhaps the only element of the game where a fact can be established, it is black and white whether the ball has crossed the line, so if the ref can categorically be wrong. For fouls and even offsides there is an element of interpretation, so it is often down to an individual's opinion, and while that of everyone else may differ from that of the ref it gives him some protection, which I think is what the FA is trying to provide and return some credibility to refs.

As for who gets it, it could become a requirement for league/Premier league entry, but could then not be used for cup ties to handicap teams playing at grounds without it. The cost would be to the club, which they won't be happy about, but the FA will say that if they're all so desperate for it they have to pay for it.

My worry is that this would be the start of a landslide of technology, in the first instance video reviews, which would slow the game, and only transfer whose opinion was being used to make the decision (albeit with the action slowed down and from different angles). And as many have said, it would give us less to talk (/moan) about.

[Northumbergull]

How about always being used for controversial goals, but only giving a team limited checks on fouls/offsides, say three per game?

Cheers

Bruce

[Awayday]

Same as tennis where you get 3 calls, if you are right then you get the call back, but if you are wrong you lose it.

[Regiment]

i think football matches would drag on as long as tennis matches at that rate !! and who would get to decide when to appeal ??

i think goal line technology is ok in theory, but realistically, these extra officials they've used in european games should be able to do that job, and the game doesn't get disrupted as a result. if you have to look at a replay 100 times to make a decision because its so tight, i think it should be left to the officials to make the decision there and then at the time - same as happens now. it's when it's a yard or so over the line and not given that needs addressing in my opinion.

[cambgull]

Does anyone really think video replays would slow the game down? Is it really going to take any longer than the usual ranting at the referee that we see after controversial decisions? I seriously don't think it would slow the game down at all.

[Northumbergull]

Well said, Cambgull!

Sometimes the blinkin' ManUre-style surrounding of refs and officials takes up minutes of time!

Bruce