RIO DE JANEIRO: FIFA will exert a tighter control over the way in which goal-line technology is projected on to the video screens in the World Cup stadia in Brazil writes KEIR RADNEDGE.
This follows confusion in Porto Alegre on Sunday night when the screens showed ‘no goal’ and then ‘goal’ in an incident when a shot from France’s Karim Benzema hit a post and was then fumbled by the Honduras goalkeeper.
Brazilian referee Sandro Ricci awarded a goal because the GoalControl system registered a goal for him within the stipulated one second when keeper Noel Valadares pulled the ball back from over the line.
However the Honduras players and fans were left in angry confusion.
A FIFA spokesperson confirmed in Rio de Janeiro that all the technology had worked correctly and commentators working from TV pictures only saw a partial view of the action.
She said: “The TV images are not conclusive and this was a unique situation because the ball hit the inside of the post before hitting the goalkeeper and rolling back across the goal line.
“As the replay is automatically triggered you saw the ‘no goal’ and then the ‘goal’ signal.
“Now we will modify the guidelines on the animation so you just see the ‘goal’ sign . . to make it even clearer for the viewers both in the stadium and in front of their TV sets.”
This means, presumably, a slight delay to allow for the conclusion of live play before the conclusive animation is screened.
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