This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Soccer's governing body may decide to introduce goal-line technology as early as March, FIFA President Sepp Blatter, said Wednesday.
The Zurich-based body has resisted installing a system to determine whether the ball has crossed the goal line. It was forced to reconsider after enduring criticism when England was denied a game-tying goal against Germany at the 2010 World Cup. Television replays showed the shot crossed the goal line.
A final decision will be made when soccer's rule-making body, the International Football Association Board, meets in London. If the board agrees, the technology will take effect for national leagues July 1, 2012, before a decision is made on using it at the World Cup. That means fans could see the system at Real Salt Lake and Major League Soccer games next summer; league commissioner Don Garber has advocated the use of such technology, and has said he would be willing for MLS to be a test market.
"We will have on the next international board at the beginning of March next year a final decision on the goal-line technology," Blatter told reporters in Rio de Janeiro. "If it will prove to be accurate and to be affordable, then it is possible the international board will decide goal-line technology shall be introduced for the World Cup 2014."
FIFA is in talks with nine potential suppliers, who have conducted tests to meet its criteria, including being able to deliver a result to the referee within a second of the action.
Blatter had opposed the technology until the last World Cup, saying he preferred a uniform set of rules to dictate matches from elite competitions down to the grass-roots level. The sport is also experimenting with extra officials placed behind the goals.
Several coaches and players have been critical of FIFA's delay in following sports like cricket, tennis and rugby in using technology to aid officials.
"We can put a man on the moon but we can't decide if a ball crossed the line," Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp told the British Broadcasting Corp. last season. "It's beyond belief."