Soccer

Premier League chooses Hawk-Eye

Goalline technology to be introduced for start of next season

The failure of officials to award Frank Lampard a goal for this shot against Germany which crossed the line during the 2010 World Cup is one of the reasons for the introduction of goal-line technology. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
The failure of officials to award Frank Lampard a goal for this shot against Germany which crossed the line during the 2010 World Cup is one of the reasons for the introduction of goal-line technology. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Thu Apr 11 2013 - 15:36

The English Premier League sought to put an end to contentious goalline decisions by approving the introduction of technology and adopting the British Hawk-Eye system .

All 20 top-flight clubs voted to approve the technology at a meeting of Premier League chairmen today. The decision comes a week after Fifa approved the appointment of German-based GoalControl for the Confederations Cup in Brazil this year and the World Cup in 2014.

“The Premier League is pleased to announce that it has awarded Hawk-Eye, the world’s leading provider of vision processing instruments to sport, the contract to provide goalline technology systems across its 20 member clubs and all 380 Barclays Premier League matches,” the league said in a statement. “This will be the first time that goalline technology is used in any domestic competition.”

The British based company Hawk-Eye known for its ball-tracking technology used in tennis and cricket, claims to be “millimetre accurate ensuring no broadcast replays could disprove the decision”.

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The system to be used in the Premier League will notify the referee if the ball has crossed the line within one second. The English Football Association wants technology to be introduced at the pre-season Community Shield fixture after lobbying for it for some time, sanctioning its testing at an England v Belgium international friendly last June.

Installation of the system, which involves seven cameras behind each goal, is expected to take up to six weeks to complete at the 20 clubs competing in the Premier League next season.

While Uefa steadfastly refuses to adopt technology, preferring instead to use extra officials behind the goal, crucial momentum now seems to have swung behind using electronic systems.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter was convinced by the failure of officials to award a goal in England's World Cup clash with Germany in 2010 when a Frank Lampard shot clearly crossed the line. The debate intensified during Euro 2012 when co-hosts Ukraine were denied an equaliser as the ball appeared to cross the line in a 1-0 defeat by England, despite Uefa's extra official being positioned behind the goal.