Goal-lineTechnology
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ESPN lets you get closer to the action during MLS All-Star Game (update)
Goal-line technology is still a relatively new thing in football, having faced its first real test only about a month ago at the World Cup in Brazil. Here in the US, ESPN is doing something along those lines, mostly for entertainment purposes, during the 2014 MLS All-Star Game -- a match between a collection of Major League Soccer's best players and German club Bayern Munich. As Sports Video Group reports, ESPN has installed a set of cameras inside the goalposts of the Timbers' Providence Park, located in Portland, Oregon, to give viewers at home a better (and much closer) look at what happens in such a critical zone of the field. Bob Frattaroli, the man in charge of directing ESPN's game broadcast, told SVG that having this system in place is perfect for fans to experience "what's going on in the 6-yard box" and to see what movements players are making around it. "First of all, it's a really unique angle, but there's also an intimacy to it that you're not expecting," he said. Update: ESPN has posted a video clip of the cameras in place plus a highlight from their unique perspective, check it out after the break.
English Premier League to adopt goal-line technology next season, Hawk-Eye to be the provider
Football's ruling body, FIFA, has already decided that goal-line technology will be used at next year's World Cup in Brazil, which, in and of itself, was an indirect nod for other competitions to follow suit. Today, one of the globe's biggest leagues announced it too will implement the recently approved tech in its matches, with the Premier League letting it be known that the 2013-2014 season is set to be the first to adopt the new system. Speaking of which, the Football Association decided to go with Hawk-Eye, a technology currently present in professional sports like tennis and cricket -- one that provides seven fast-frame shooters around the two goals and uses software to quickly analyze if the ball indeed crossed the line. For the football (soccer) faithful, it's been a long time coming, so here's hoping this makes the game less prone to errors. After all, Howard Webb and Mike Dean need all the help they can get. [Image credit, Premier League]
FIFA confirms goal-line tech will be used at the 2014 World Cup
FIFA's frosty relationship with the future might just be thawing, after Soccer's governing body announced that it will use goal-line technology. After a successful trial at last year's Club World Cup, the organization will use electronic refereeing at the 2013 Confederations Cup and 2014 World Cup. That said, the body is still insisting that human officials will have the final say -- despite evidence to suggest that's not a very good idea.
FIFA gives referees 'final word' on goal-line technology, defeats point of goal-line technology
Soccer's governing body isn't that big on technology, which is why you occasionally see the odd refereeing mistake (or two). Fans may have hoped that the goal-line experiments at this month's Club World Cup would be the dawn of a new era in which computers are trusted as final arbiters. But it's clear that FIFA isn't ready to go that far just yet. Secretary General Jerome Valcke has announced that referees will get to decide 90 minutes before kick-off whether to use the Hawkeye and GoalRef systems, and will have the authority to overrule the systems' evidence during the game. We're still hopeful that the men in black will accept the help of this technology, but if they don't, we may have to switch to a more computer-literate pastime.
