FIFA President Sepp Blatter encouraged the introduction of “video challenges” during games after goal-line technology.
Blatter and the authorities had resisted introducing technology into the sport, but in the 2014 World Cup the use of both goal-line technology and the vanishing spray to keep players distant for free kicks have proved successful.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter encouraged the introduction of “video challenges” during games after goal-line technology.
Blatter and the authorities had resisted introducing technology into the sport, but in the 2014 World Cup the use of both goal-line technology and the vanishing spray to keep players distant for free kicks have proved successful.
“Goal-line technology is a big hit,” wrote Blatter in the new edition of FIFA Weekly.
“The referees’ vanishing spray has turned in the briefest space of time from a much-ridiculed curiosity to an indispensable component of the game.
“At long last we are rid of remonstrating and cheating for the sake of mere centimetres. Why didn’t we introduce this spray 50 years ago?
“At the Congress I put forward the idea of video challenges for Coaches. I suggested two ‘calls’ per match for controversial incidents.
“For now this is only intended to initiate a discussion. But this tournament demonstrates that we should not seal ourselves off from modern life.
“As is the case with goal-line technology, if it proves possible to provide referees with other real-time decision-making tools for different game-changing situations in the future, we should be open to it, because transparency and credibility matter more than anything else in football.”
This has been seized upon by the Italian media, who have been calling for many years for the so-called ‘moviola in campo’ – video replays during a match situation.
It is already used in sports such as tennis and American Football.