Belt and braces for Euro 2016 as UEFA picks Hawk-Eye’s goal-line system
NYON: UEFA has selected Hawk-Eye as the goal-line technology supplier for all matches at Euro 2016 in France. The camera-based system will be installed in all 10 stadia before the tournament kicks off on June 10 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis writes KEIR RADNEDGE.
For Hawk-Eye the decision is what the company may consider long overdue recognition for its pioneering work after the snub when FIFA, for the last World Cup, turned to a German rival.
The GLT will work in tandem with UEFA’s own ‘goal-line assistants’ – the system preferred by suspended president Michel Platini and deployed in all UEFA international tournaments.
The use of goal-line technology was approved for Euro 2016 by the UEFA executive committee in January,
Hawk-Eye was chosen after a selection process in which all four FIFA-licensed goal-line technology providers were invited to provide information and submit commercial offers.
Hawk-Eye was the first company to receive a FIFA goal-line technology license; its system is already in use in the English, German and Italian leagues, and it was used for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.
UEFA’s chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina, trying to explain the value of both systems, said: “Goal-line technology and additional assistant referees complement each other perfectly.
“The main task of the AARs is not to control the goal line and decide whether a ball has crossed it; rather they are responsible for monitoring everything that is happening in the penalty area overall, aiding the main referee in making important decisions in the box.
“Now, with GLT focused on the goal line, the additional assistants can focus exclusively on the control of other incidents in the penalty area, the most crucial area of the pitch.”
Hawk-Eye deploys seven cameras per goal, using control software to track the ball within the goal area. Using vision-processing techniques and software, Hawk-Eye indicates whether or not a goal has been scored within one second with a vibration and visual signal on each match official’s watch.
The Hawk-Eye system will also be used in the Champions League and Europa League finals as well as the UEFA Super Cup match in Trondheim and in the 2016-17 Champions League, from the play-offs onwards. No decision has yet been made concerning the Europa League.
#############
