FIFA ends goalline idea after inconclusive tests

By Mike Collett

GLENEAGLES, Scotland (Reuters) - FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Saturday that goal-line technology would not be used in football for the foreseeable future because no accurate system had been developed after three years of trials.

World soccer's governing body decided, through its law-making body, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), not to sanction any further experiments into technological aids to determine whether the ball had crossed the line for a goal.

"For the third year in a row the International Board discussed goal-line technology. We looked at two systems and they were not 100 percent accurate," said Blatter.

"One was very complicated, needing electrified lines on the field of play and other devices including antennae and when we tested it in Tokyo last year there was one mistake during the seven matches we used as an experiment at the Club World Championship.

"The second system, using cameras, was not fully developed yet, but there were problems with players obscuring the views of the cameras, or of flares or weather conditions.

"We felt that neither system added anything positive and harmed the authority of the referee. We have to live with errors, football has to keep its human face."

Brian Barwick, the chief executive of the English FA who supported the experiments, told a news conference earlier that he was disappointed by the decision and that "the idea is now dead in the water".

IFAB gave its approval for experiments to start this year with an additional assistant referee placed behind each goal to help the referee rule on contentious decisions.