RIO DE JANEIRO: The goal-line technology systems installed at Brazil’s 12 World Cup stadia have not been used since the end of the finals in July writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

The non-use issue was sparked after an incident during Santos’ 2-0 win over Goias in the Pacaembu stadium in Sao Paulo.

A ‘goal’ by Esquerdinha of Goias was disallowed although TV replays showed his shot had crashed off the bar and down behind the goal-line before ricocheting back out into play.

Goal-line technology was used at the World Cup finals in Brazil for the first time and was judged decisive on five occasions.

The GoalControl hardware left behind as a legacy featured included 14 cameras in all the stadia plus the software and the essential ‘wristwatch’ worn by the referee for transmission of a scoring signal.

Pacaembu was not a World Cup stadium and does not have GLT installed and the Brazilian football confederation had decided that it would be too expensive to install in all its Serie A and Serie B stadia.

Sergio Correa da Silva, CBF referees’ supervisor, said: “We have to have uniformity. We believe it would wrong to use goal-line technology in the Arena do Corinthians – which has the equipment – when we don’t have it in other Sao Paulo stadia such as Pacaembu and Vila Belmiro. The cost to put it in all the other stadia is too high.”

Correa da Silva estimated the across-the-board cost of installation in 30 stadia at £200,000 plus £3,000 activation cost per match.

FIFA had agreed to pay for all match activation costs of the World Cup equipment for a year after the finals.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter confirmed last week that FIFA had left Brazil $80m in its World Cup legacy fund.

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