FIFA endorses goal line technology
LONDON, England -- Microchip technology is to be used in football for the first time to decide whether the ball has crossed the line, FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced on Saturday.
Technology pioneered by sports goods firm Adidas will be trialled at the world under-17 championships in Peru this autumn.
Blatter said that if it was successful the system would be used at the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany.
However, the head of football's world governing body, dashed the hopes of advocates of the use of television replays to decide disputed decisions.
"Goal line technology, 'yes', " said Blatter. "But 'no' to other technology in football and absolutely not a supervising referee watching a television monitor," he added.
Blatter was speaking following the annual meeting of International Football Association Board (IFAB) on Saturday in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.
The international board, comprising the four British football associations and four representatives from FIFA, is the game's ultimate law-making authority.
Under the system devised by Adidas, a microchip in the ball sends a signal directly to the referee when the ball has crossed the line for a goal, eliminating the need for a video replay or input from the fourth match official.
Calls for such a technology to be introduced gathered pace after a recent English Premiership match between Manchester United and Tottenham where United goalkeeper Roy Carroll fumbled a speculative shot from the halfway line by Pedro Mendes.
Television replays clearly showed the ball to have crossed the line, but referee Mark Clattenberg and his assistants claimed they could not see the incident and waved away Tottenham's legitimate appeals for a goal.
