By Neil Ashton
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Arsene Wenger claimed the Barclays Premier League's goalline decision system is a victory for justice after watching the new technology in action for the first time on Thursday.
The Arsenal manager was given a thorough rundown on the Hawk-Eye system that will be used to confirm whether the ball has crossed the line in top-flight matches next season.
Wenger, who was at the Emirates for a demonstration, said: 'The important thing is justice. People always speak about financial implications but the most important thing is to get the decisions right.
VIDEO Scroll down to see how Hawk-Eye will work
Signal: Arsene Wenger shows off the watch referees will wear to alert them the ball is over the line
'It's more sophisticated and complicated than you would think. It took a while to get to this level.'
Premier League chief Richard Scudamore admitted on Wednesday that Frank Lampard's disallowed goal at the 2010 World Cup against Germany in Bloemfontein had prompted FIFA to change their minds over goalline cameras.
Every Premier League club has paid around 250,000 to have seven cameras at each end installed in the roof of their stadium. Premier League referees will be issued with new wristwatches on Monday that will flash 'GOAL' on a red LED display if the ball crosses the line within one second. There will be no delay to matches.
The watches worn by the referee, along with his assistants and the fourth official at all Premier League matches, will also vibrate to attract their attention when a goal is scored and flash 'GOAL' for six seconds.
Wenger and referee Anthony Taylor (front right) will be hoping the technology brings an end to dubious goal-line decisions
Technology: If the ball goes over the line then it will flash up on the watch
For the avoidance of doubt, the headsets of each official will also be calibrated with the Hawk-Eye system to shout 'GOAL' in their ears.
Last season there were 31 occasions in 380 Premier League matches when the Goal Decision System (GDS) would have been used and three decisions would have been changed. Victor Anichebe's strike for Everton against Newcastle, which bounced a metre over the line, was one of the most high-profile incidents.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore, who was at Thursday's launch, said: 'This is 100 per cent accurate. It's a binary decision. We've had discussions about other decisions where technology may be able to help, but I haven't formed a view and neither have the clubs about whether anything else lends itself to technology.'
A new era: Goal-line technology will be used in the Premier League next season, with the Hawk-Eye system installed at every ground
It's a goal: Referee Taylor (wearing watch) displays what officials will see when the ball crosses the line
New panel also introduced
Three former referees will make up a panel to review incidents that have been missed over a weekend, it has been announced.]
The season-long pilot will include a trio of unnamed referees who will be on standby to review video footage when needed.
The review will be conducted via video link between the FA's disciplinary department and each member of the panel, to determine whether further action will be taken, revealed the Telegraph.
Callum McManaman's horror tackle on Massadio Haidara, for which the midfielder received no further action, is the type of incident that has sparked the change in policy.
The Football League will not introduce the scheme this season, but will monitor developments in the Premier League.
The decision was also taken to not introduce any form of retrospective action for diving.
Inevitably there will be calls to use GDS in other areas of the game — such as offsides, penalties and red cards — when the system is first called on next season.
FIFA guidelines demand accuracy to within 30mm for goalline systems, but the Premier League system is within 4mm.
GDS will be used for the first time on Sunday when it is tested in the Community Shield for the clash between Manchester United and Wigan. It will also be in operation at Wembley the following Wednesday in the international friendly between England and Scotland.
The first time it will be used in a Barclays Premier League game is a week on Saturday when Liverpool host Stoke City in a lunchtime kick-off.
Although there are no plans to roll out the system in the Football League at present, mainly because of the cost involved of installing seven cameras at each end of the stadium, English football is at the forefront of the new rule changes.
Premier League referees will be taken for a briefing on Monday as they prepare for the new season.
It has also emerged that another system is being trialled in Holland to help officials with offside decisions, but the Premier League have no plans to lobby FIFA for another change to the new rules at this time.
Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny discusses the new system with referee Taylor
Szczesny and Arsenal host Aston Villa on the opening day of the new Premier League season
Sensors on the stadium roof are part of Hawk-Eye's technology
What a view: A Hawk-Eye camera focuses on a goal at the Emirates
Answers: View inside the Goal Decision System truck
Hawk-Eye inventor Dr Paul Hawkins (left), FA general secretary Alex Horne (middle) and Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore (right) speak at the launch
The catalyst for change: Frank Lampard's 'ghost goal' at the 2010 World Cup finally made Sepp Blatter change his mind on goal-line technology
Here to stay: A rival system, GoalControl, was used at the Confederations Cup and will be installed at next summer's World Cup
EYE ON HAWK-EYE: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
THE NAME
While cricket has DRS, football now has GDS. Hawkeye's system will be known as the 'goal decision system'.
THE COST
250,000 per ground, spread over the four years, plus unspecified operational costs each season. The fee is paid for by each individual club.
THE METHOD
When the ball crosses the line an alarm goes off on the referee's watch. Referees will also get an automated voice-recording of 'GOAL' over their headsets if the ball is in. All PGMO Select Group referees are being trained on the new system in time for the new season.
THE REPLAY
The intention is for replays to be shown on the big screen, but not all Premier League grounds have screens. TV audiences will see the usual replays instantaneously, followed by a graphical representation of the ball crossing the line less than 20 seconds later. The cameras used to capture whether the ball is over the line or not work at 320 frames per second.
THE COMPETITION
The system will be used in all 380 Premier League games this season. It will also be used at FA Cup games where the stadiums have the equipment, as well as at Wembley for the Community Shield and England matches.
Opponents: Rio Ferdinand is against the introduction of the technology
High ranking opposition: UEFA president Michel Platini's opposition means the Hawk-Eye cameras will have to be switched off for European fixtures
Multiple occasions: Each Premier League season sees a number of goals wrongly given, or not given when they should be
FOOTBALL'S CATCHING UP - TECHNOLOGY IN OTHER SPORTS
CRICKET
The third umpire was first introduced in international cricket 20 years ago, primarily for on-field umpires to call for assistance for run-out and stumping decisions and whether catches had carried to fielders.
Over the years the remit has been expanded as technologies have advanced with third umpires now having access to super-slow motion, infrared imaging, stump microphones and the predictive ball-tracking Hawk-Eye, which can rule on lbws. Players can now challenge umpires' decisions by calling for a TV review.
TENNIS
Wimbledon watchers will remember the bleeps of 'Cyclops', the infrared system which was used to detect whether serves were in or out and was introduced at the championships in 1980. These days the showpiece matches utilise Hawk-Eye, which tracks the ball all over the court. If a player disagrees with a line judge's call, they can call for a Hawk-Eye review and are allowed two incorrect challenges per set.
RUGBY LEAGUE
The video referee came into rugby league with the launch of Super League in 1996 and has become part of the competition's fabric, although it is still only used in live TV matches for cost reasons.
The system has been refined over the years but the video referee can rule on a wide range of decisions when called upon by the referee, with the exception of the forward pass, for which camera angles can be deceptive. The system is also used in televised Challenge Cup ties, Australia's NRL and selected international fixtures.
RUGBY UNION
The 15-man code paved the way for the introduction of the Television Match Official in 2001. They are now regularly used at the top level but their scope remains limited with referees only able to call for assistance in acts of scoring. That could change later this year with the International Rugby Board having approved trials for reviews on other matters within the field of play.
Since last season the TMO has been used in all English Premiership games, not just those being televised.
AMERICAN FOOTBALL
The NFL introduced a replay system in 1986 with an extra official used to review certain plays. It was dropped in 1992 amid general feeling it had done little to improve the game but a new method of coaches' challenges was brought in seven years later.
When a challenge is made in the NFL, it is the on-field referee himself who will watch replays, under a hood, on the sidelines. He must see clear evidence of an error and has 60 seconds to make a decision. Coaches are allowed to challenge two decisions per game but if both are successful are allowed a third.
If a challenge is unsuccessful, the team is charged with a timeout. Challenges cannot be made in the final two minutes of each half, or overtime, but all plays are observed by an additional TV official.
INNOVATIONS IN FOOTBALL
1863: At a meeting at the Freemasons' Tavern in London, the FA is founded plus the first set of rules. The Cambridge Rules - produced by undergraduates at Cambridge University in the 1840s - are rewritten to provide the game's first uniform regulations.
1869: Goal-kicks are introduced for the first time, with corners following three years later.
1875: The crossbar replaces tape as the means of marking the top of the goal.
1878: A referee uses a whistle for the first time and the first floodlit match takes place at Bramall Lane between two local teams.
1882: The football associations of Great Britain unify their rules and form the International Football Association Board - the body that determines the Laws of the Game.
1891: Penalties are awarded for the first time, the goal net is accepted into the laws and the referee is allowed on the field of play.
1902: The penalty box and spot are introduced after it's decided penalties would be awarded for fouls committed in an area 18 yards from the goal line and 44 yards wide. The six-yard box was also introduced, although it took another 35 years for the 'D' shape at the edge of the area to be brought in.
1912: Goalkeepers are prevented from handling the ball outside the penalty area.
1925: The offside law - where players are onside if there are three players between the ball and goal - are reduced to two players.
1938: Laws of the Game are made by IFAB member Stanley Rous, who did such a good job that it was not revised again until 1997.
1958: Substitutes are permitted for the first time, albeit only for an injured goalkeeper and one other injured player.
1970: Red and yellow cards are introduced for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.
1990: The offside law is changed in favour of the attacker, who is now onside if level with the penultimate defender.
1992: Goalkeepers are forbidden from handling back-passes from a team-mate's foot.
1994: The technical area is introduced into the Laws of the Game, with the fourth official following the next year.
Hawk-eye was the wrong choice, they should have picked Goal Ref technology.
- Nikita , Strood, 09/8/2013 08:57
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