BERNE, (Reuters) – Soccer’s rule-makers will consider the results from tests on 10 different goal-line technology systems when they meet for their annual meeting in Cardiff next month.
Stray dogs and players’ tights will also be on the agenda of the International Football Association Board on March 5 but technology will doubtless command the fullest attention after the issue was revived during last year’s World Cup.
The IFAB had dismissed the use of goal-line systems one year ago but the debate was re-ignited by England’s disallowed goal in the World Cup second round match against Germany, when replays showed the ball clearly over the line.
FIFA said yesterday the proposed systems would be tested next week by the Zurich-based research institute EMPA.
The use of video technology, which could help the referee decide on a handball or offside decision, will not be up for discussion in Cardiff.
The IFAB will hear an update on the so-called five referees experiment — which features an extra linesman behind each goal and is being touted as an alternative to the use of goal-line technology — and the possibility of using it at Euro 2012.
UEFA president Michel Platini is a fervent supporter.
The meeting’s agenda includes seven relatively minor proposals for rule changes, ranging from the colour of players’ tights to the unlikely event of the ball bursting when a penalty is being taken.
The law governing players’ kit currently states that “if undershorts are worn, they must be of the same main colour as the shorts”.
The new version inserts the word “tights” after undershorts and, if passed, could avoid controversies such as the one last year involving Bayern Munich’s Dutch winger Arjen Robben, who wore grey long-johns under his red kit.
The IFAB also wants to give referees clearer guidance on how to handle stray dogs, unofficial balls and other objects on the pitch.
One proposed change could prevent unscrupulous coaches from disrupting play by having spare balls thrown onto the field while the opposition is attacking, a tactic that has been used in South America.
