No goal-line aids next season

The Football Association have ruled out the possibility of goal-line technology being used in the English Premier League next season.

FA general secretary Alex Horne said tests were still being undertaken on various brands of the technology, delaying its introduction until at least the 2013/14 season.

“I think that’ll be too late for 2012/13. I think it’ll be 2013/14 because there’s then a big capital decision-making process for any league or any competition who want to apply (the technology),” Horne said.

“There’s not going to be one technology for all of world football.”

“There’s a phase of testing up until March 2012 that will establish whether technology can actually achieve reasonable accuracy – 90 per cent, 99 per cent, maybe 100 per cent.”

“It’s happening live in stadia all around Europe. They can simulate light, they can simulate dark, they can simulate balls rolling across the line, balls being fired in from all different angles.”

Horne clarified that any use of technology would only be undertaken to determine whether a goal had been scored or not, and not to adjudicate on offside rulings.

“Those single points of scoring a goal are so vital and there are so few of them in a football match compared to tennis or cricket that that is where we need the technology,” he said.

“If you start using technology to judge offsides, for example, then I think you’ve gone too far.”

Some of the companies registered for testing include Hawkeye, Cairos, Sportvision, Swiss Timing, Orad Hi-Tec Systems and Goalminder.