First hawk-eye goal in Dutch Eredivisie

Screenshot of goal-line technology.Referee Pieter Vink had to make two different calls this weekend. “Both I and my assistant had not seen that the ball was over the line”, he admitted. “And if there is doubt, I can’t allow the goal when then. I can’t explain then to players why I allowed the goal.” But he still signaled that a goal has been scored. It was the first hawk-eye goal in Dutch Eredivisie.

His watch started buzzing. “And then you’ll hear a voice in your ear saying ‘goal, goal, goal’. The I knew for sure I would make the right call”.

The 48-year-old referee from Noordwijk told that he normally has both teams moaning at him when making important decisions, f.e. if it’s a goal or not. “Now one of them came protesting and I could immediately show that watch”, Vink told Dutch news website NU.nl. “I thought that was really cool.” He jokingly added that it would save him some critics on his assessment report after the game. Earlier in the game the ball bounced back from the bar. Vink thought that was closer to a goal than the one he had to allow.

Check both situations in the video below:

Want to know how the Hawk-Eye system works? Check this story out.

What are your thoughts on the use of technology in football?

“Video referee needs to decide: inside or outside box”

The video referee is not (yet) introduced in the biggest footall competitions. But Jamie Carragher wants that to change. The former Liverpool defender says that a video referee needs to decide wether a free kick is inside or outside the penalty area. “That is a massive decision”, he told on BBC’s Match of the Day.

Carragher thinks it would be a good idea when play would be stopped after a referee has decided that it was a foul. Then it would be up to the video referee to tell the center referee if the offence occured inside or outside the box. “That would be the next step for goal-line technology.”

Jamie Carragher on the video referee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFWNuZ99hbY

The most recent match where such a situation occurred was the Spanish derby between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Referee Christiano Ronaldo a penalty kick, but the offence happened about 20 centimeters outside the penalty area. Ronalda scored from the spot, but ‘el Classico’ ended in a 2-3 win for Barcelona. Eventhough the Real players were very lucky in this situation, they felt the need to complain about other decision from referee Undiano Mallenco. Sergio Ramos and Christiano Ronaldo were going too far, says the Spain’s Technical Committee of Referees (CTA). The organisation has sent a complaint about it to the Spanish Football Association RFEF.

Watch the match situation with Ronaldo and the penalty kick:

Check out how goal-line technology works.

Goal-line technology works at Chelsea vs. Hull

It’s 2-0 for Chelsea in the game against Hull. Injury time and a corner kick had been awarded for Chelsea. Frank Lampard swings the ball in and a player heads it towards the goal. Goalie McGregor got the ball, but did it cross the line? The goal-line technology gives the answer: no goal. Correct decision.

Check out the video from the situation. The quality is not so good, but all other video’s of the situation have been deleted. Read below how this system works.

How does goal-line technology works in 6 key points

  • Seven camera’s per goal detect if the ball has crossed the line or not.
  • The referee will get a signal on his vibrating watch with the text GOAL just one second after the ball crossed the line.
  • The system works perfectly even when there are many people standing on the line. Sportsmail’s Laurie Whitwell tried it: “I lifted the ball up and walked over the line with it tucked under my arm to see if that affected things. Again the machine on my wrist told me it was a goal.”
  • Hawk-Eye can provide a TV replay to categorically prove the decision is correct, the company says.
  • It is technically possible to also provide a “near miss” signal to the watches so the referee also receives a positive confirmation that the ball did not cross the line in a close incident.
  • The system will not be disturbed by thousands of fans using their mobile phone. Mail Online wrote: “Instead, it is an automatic transmission from the cameras. Not wifi or Bluetooth, which can be affected when 70,000 people bring mobiles to grounds, but Hawk-Eye’s special method that they do not reveal as it is a secret to their success.”

Busacca new head of Fifa refereeing

Massimo Busacca has been appointed as new head of Fifa’s refereeing department. The Swiss referee, who will start at August 1st, has announced the end of his career as ‘men in black’ recently.

Fifa president Joseph Blatter is happy with his recruit: “As I have said on many occasions, I have made refereeing one of my main priorities. Massimo Busacca’s experience will prove to be particularly useful to our mission and to our efforts to continue the groundwork we have put in place with the confederations and member associations in this particularly important area.”

The question for many referees is: will this in the future bring much change into refereeing. According to German newspaper Der Tagesspiel, Busacca has said he is favouring a goal-line camera, something his fellow countryman Blatter never wanted to think about as a serious option for professional football.

UPDATE: Busacca has spoken about the use of video technology to SwissInfo: “I’m against it. We’ve talked about having fifth and sixth referees. I’m convinced that this is a good solution to better address the situation.”

‘99.9 percent of managers are well behaved’

“Personally I’d like to see the use of technology for goal line incidents only”, says Darren Handley, Footall League assistant referee.

Second part of the interview, written by Dave Humphreys. Read also the first part.

So, thinking about all the initiatives to try and improve refereeing standard, would you be in favour of video technology or the UEFA implemented additional assistants?

Photo by refworld.com

*Chuckles* “It’s a massive, massive topic; it’s in the media 24-7. It’s a huge, huge area, what’s black is black, what’s white is white and currently as we state. Personally I’d like to see the use of technology for goal line incidents only. The difficultly you have with video technology is once it’s implemented for goal line decisions, we’re all in the game for more goals and more adrenaline for the game, spectators thriving off goals.”

“The difficulty comes certainly in the Premier League and Football League, clubs and managers will expect and anticipate video tech to be used for offside decisions, for throw ins, free kicks and across the FOP and if we’re not careful we could find ourselves in a position where we are with Rugby where it’s stop start, stop start and that isn’t a game of football for me to referee, I wouldn’t like to be involved in games to be stop start, stop start, I much prefer the system as it is now where it’s free kick, give, go, game starts again.”

“I think as time goes by, who knows? The more debate and research that goes into the use of video technology, we certainly get a DVD after most games as a Referee and all key match incidents, for example penalty kicks, sending offs, goals scored are reviewed by the match assessor through the DVD, so that’s currently in operation at this moment in time across the network of referees down to level 2 – Conference.”

What do you make of the additional assistants? How would you feel if you got the call to go and stand on the touchline on a freezing cold ground in Burnley? What do you make of what UEFA have done with these additional assistants?

“Again, I think it’s an interesting way forward, certainly UEFA’s point of view for European games, we’re talking a worldwide audience that are watching those games and it adds to credibility of decisions and if we can use the extra officials that are available it can enhance major decisions within a penalty area where most of the action is seen.”

“In terms of myself going to a Football League game and being asked to stand behind a goal, if it helps and promotes the game in the Football League and supports a major decision, then yes I’d be more than willing to. However the cost implications are massive and we’re in a world recession and clubs cannot afford to putting in 6 officials on a match day, the Football League are just about coping to cover 4 officials on the day at the moment.”

Moving on, you mentioned the Football League, what are the managers really like? Are they really as much as a pain as they look when you’re watching matches on the TV?

“I think from a personal point of view, I haven’t had a problem, touch wood, with managers and I think 99.9% are well behaved and hold respect towards you. But as you know and I know, in football it can get heated, it might be a decision where a player has been sent off or a penalty appeal has gone against you, the managers do get frustrated. I think the issue has come, where the media jump on every single negative comment and are quick to highlight managers belittling officials and it sells newspapers, sells stories and it’s all the bigger picture for the TV and promote that because it gets more viewers for them.”

What have been your highlights as a Football League official?

“There’s been quite a few throughout my career. The one that stands to mind is my first Sky game as an Assistant Referee, to be involved in a Sky live game is a fantastic experience having never previously being involved in one and I was lucky enough to, in my second or third season, be involved in a live game.”

“The build up to a game, the anticipation, the Sky TV cameras are there, the kick off time changes to 5.15 or 12.45 and the whole euphoria being involved in Sky TV to a world audience does sort of like, make you think a little bit more and tune you in a little bit more knowing your little child is at home watching you on TV. As Referee in 2005 I was appointed to the English Schools FA International match, England v N. Ireland U-18s. This was a fantastic experience and to line up with the National Anthem being played out as the teams lined up was quite emotional for me.”

What’s the camaraderie like amongst a team of officials? I’ve seen the appointments on the website are you kept in teams to maintain that sense of a team or is it a case of familiarity breeds contempt?

“We do get the opportunity to work with most of the National List referees, the refs and assistants are appointed on Monday with a list of fixtures by email. We don’t work regularly in teams, certainly on the Football League, so there is a good variety. The assistant referees are regionalised from 100 miles from home, National list referees can travel the length and breadth of the country.”